mhpthe mhp has traditionally been wary of mr erdogan but its leadership now supports giving him more power in the private expectation that its own cadres will subsequently be rewarded with more influencewhile an estimated three million german residents are of turkish origin as well as about 400000 dutch residents the number of people in germany and the netherlands who are eligible to vote in the turkish elections is far lower said alexander clarkson a specialist on the turkish diaspora at kings college london mr erdogans recent gestures were therefore primarily targeted at the mhps rank and file in turkey many of whom are skeptical of their leaderships alliance with mr erdogan mr clarkson saidthe audience isnt really the diaspora the audience is at home mr clarkson said of the governments stance toward the netherlands and germanythe heated language helps achieve this goal mr clarkson said since it enables erdogan and the akp to say we are out there protecting the rights of turks abroad the akp is an acronym for mr erdogans group the justice and development partymr erdogan was accused of hypocrisy for criticizing europes perceived authoritarianism while overseeing a sweeping crackdown on dissent in his country since a failed coup in july mr erdogans government has ruled mostly by decree allowing it to suspend or fire more than 120000 government employees and arrest an estimated 45000 people suspected of being dissidents or rebels the detainees come from a broad section of public life and include soldiers police officers teachers judges academics journalists and lawmakershe is the president of a country mr candar said of mr erdogan where more than 150 journalists oped writers columnists opinion makers are in prison and the leaders of the thirdlargest caucus in the turkish parliament as well as 12 other members of parliament who belong to it are also in prisonturkey mr candar argued has transformed into a republic of fear