By Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish president-elect Tayyip Erdogan signalled no let-up in his drive to strengthen the powers of the presidency on Thursday and vowed his battle against an Islamic cleric he accuses of plotting against the state would intensify once he took office. In his first major speech since declaring victory in a presidential election on Sunday, Erdogan offered little sign that his fiery rhetoric and blunt approach to politics would soften after his inauguration on Aug. 28. His victory secured his place in history as Turkey's first directly elected head of state and took him a step closer to the presidential system he covets for the European Union candidate nation and NATO member state. His opponents fear an increasingly authoritarian state under Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade, and whose Islamist roots and intolerance of dissent they fear is taking Turkey further away from Western values.
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August 14th, 2014
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