The battle for Turkey, the battle for Syria

Voters in Turkey, according to the latest polls, are expected to hand incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a sweeping victory on Sunday. After all, under his leadership, Turkey has transformed into a regional power that enjoys prestige and standing in the surrounding region, and across the world. And as far as the Turkish voter is concerned, what's more important is that, under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has transformed into a country that enjoys unprecedented political stability, prosperity and economic growth, the likes of which it has never seen.

The important question in these elections is not who the winner will be, but whether Erdogan and his Islamist party will succeed in winning two-thirds of the seats in the Turkish parliament. Such a victory would allow Erdogan to amend the constitution to suit to his vision and that of his AK party. The main thrust of this vision is to disconnect the country from the secular and pro-Western legacy of its modern founder, Ataturk, and to turn the country into an Islamic one modeled on and inspired by the Ottoman Empire.

The new legislation Erdogan wants to implement would transform the system of government in Turkey to a presidential one, similar to that of the United States. That way, in a year or two, Erdogan can run for president and become the undisputed leader of Turkey, ruling almost without any checks and balances.

The voice of the Turkish Army, which over the years defended Ataturk's legacy within the country, is no longer heard. Over the course of Erdogan's seven years in office, he has succeeded in weakening the military and suppressing its involvement in the country's political life. And he has done so with the tacit support from the U.S. and European countries, which view Erdogan as a democrat who wants to get Turkey's generals to hang up their uniforms. Erdogan has also weakened other domestic secular elites, who have been waging a fierce battle to maintain Turkey's secularism and to keep its eyes firmly planted to the West in the hopes of becoming an inseparable part of Europe.

It is well known that, for quite some time, Israel has paid the price for Erdogan's growing aspirations. Israel has become the Turkish prime minister's punching bag, on the way to fulfilling his dream of transforming Turkey into a regional power that enjoys broad support across the Arab world. Now Syrian President Bashar Assad, Erdogan's former friend, is paying the price.

Turkey, it seems, does not intend to watch from the sidelines as Assad's secular government, supported by the Shiite world (Iran and Hezbollah), battles its opponents, members of Syria's Sunni community, under the direction of the Muslim Brotherhood. For Erdogan's party, the Muslim Brotherhood, whether in Palestine (Hamas) or Syria, are brothers in faith and future political allies.

Erdogan is looking forward not just to the day after the elections in Turkey, when he will be able to change the country from its foundations. It is likely that he is also looking forward to the day Assad will no longer rule Syria, a time when that country will be governed by Sunnis. Then Turkey will seek to replace Iran as Syria's main ally - and possibly even as its "landlord." After all, Syria was an Ottoman province governed from Istanbul for 500 years - and soon it may be governed from Ankara.