Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan: Hitler’s Germany was an effective system

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan, who is pushing for executive powers, cited Hitler’s Germany as an example of an effective presidential system, in comments broadcast by Turkish media yesterday.

Erdogan wants to change the Turkish constitution to turn the ceremonial role of president into that of a chief executive, a Turkish version of the system in the US, France, or Russia.

Asked on his return from a visit to Saudi Arabia late on Thursday whether an executive presidential system was possible while maintaining the unitary structure of the state, Ergogan said: “There are already examples in the world. You can see it when you look at Hitler’s Germany.