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In addition to Turkiye, Thailand is also having elections on Sunday.
Not near as strategic as Turkiye for the US but of interest to me. I've got friends there and I know many Thais are tired of the military backed government. And also of the current King, a former playboy living in Europe until his revered father died. He returned home with a lot of baggage and is not highly regarded at all.
13 successful coups. But most recent ones have been relatively bloodless, the PMs are exiled. The monarchy is above it all and is (or was) seen as a stabilizing force. The military has its hands in many things and makes plenty of money. There's a fine balancing act between the politicians and military.
Thailand is fairly neutral. Probably won't come under the sway of China nor the US anytime soon. But the younger generation is more westernized (you should see some of their malls) so there is opportunity if we play the long game well.
Bottom-line. I suspect there'll be a new PM elected, there'll be a push to reduce the military from politics, and there'll be another military coup in the next 2-3 years.
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