This Sunday's edition of Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper carried an article comparing newly elected Iranian President Mahmud Ahmedinejad and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Stressing that for Europe, victory in an election for an "Islamic" candidate was "not a new thing," the opinion piece went on to say this:

"Two years have passed since Turkey elected an Islamic prime minister. As the former Mayor of Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan brought into existance separate beaches for men and women, as well as separate buses for female and male students. Like Ahmedinejad, he passed himself off as a 'man of the people,' and promised to help those in poverty. A big difference between them though is that Erdogan's country is turned towards the West, and that its secular status is not being threatened. With the election of Ahmedinejad, all of the critical points in the government are now occupied by conservatives. Any change for democracy or movement towards the West have been erased for now."  (Hürriyetim)