Since the coup attempt of July 2016, Erdogan has already fired 120,000 public servants and jailed nearly 50,000 people, including journalists, lawyers, soldiers, police officers, academics and Kurdish politicians, in what seems like a clear attempt to reshape the machinery of the state. In March he also offered veiled threats to the constitutional court should it oppose him.

His intolerance of dissenting views has also led him to ban all language versions of Wikiedia in Turkey and he has also banned internet based dating programmes (his initial intention to ban TVdating programmes as well was reversed from due to the popularity of the shows with the public).

Some have suggested that Erdogan intends to remould Turkey into an Islamist state and point to attempts to outlaw adultery and create alcohol free areas, as well as his attitude to the moraliy of dating shows, as examples of these intentions.

Certainly he has presided over the revival of some Ottoman traditions, particularly when he greeted Mahmoud Abbas to the country. Many people refer to him affectionately as 'the Sultan'.

He has also cracked down on the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) but this is hardly new for a Turkish government.