Europe faces ‘crisis of democracy and capitalism’, says Turkish author

Russia’s struggle in Ukraine and the financial impression it’s having on Europe have underscored an ongoing “disaster of democracy” that will not be fastened with small adjustments, a famend Turkish political writer has warned. 

“There’s actual panic in Europe and I really feel it all over the place I’m going,” Ece Temelkuran, writer of “The right way to Lose a Nation: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship”, informed Euronews.

She was talking on the margin of a convention in Brussels organised by suppose tank Buddies of Europe and entitled “Making sense of transitions in an age of crises: a Renewed Social Contract for a brand new period.”

“The issue is international debates or European debate about democracy has two foremost arteries and one in all them is attempting to inform us that if we are able to make things better just a little bit right here and there, if we are able to eliminate this chief or that chief, the whole lot will probably be again to enterprise, , enterprise as common. Nevertheless, I do suppose that it is a deeper disaster, and the disaster of democracy may be very a lot intertwined with the disaster of capitalism,” Temelkuran argued. 

She warned as an example that “the world is turning into authoritarian” however that leaders together with Hungary’s Viktor Orban, former US President Trump, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson or Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are usually not solely accountable. 

“There are individuals in Europe demanding authoritarian leaders,” she continued, stressing additionally that “voting will not be democracy.”

So-called backsliding of democracy has been noticed all over the world in recent times together with within the US, Turkey, but in addition in European Union member states resembling Poland and Hungary the place ruling events have weakened rule of regulation mechanisms.

Ursula von der Leyen, the pinnacle of the European Fee, stated in September throughout her annual State of the Union deal with that her establishment will current a Defence of Democracy package deal within the coming months. 

“It is going to deliver covert international affect and shady funding to mild. We is not going to enable any autocracy’s Trojan horses to assault our democracies from inside.”

“Many people have taken democracy as a right for too lengthy,” she stated.