ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has canceled a trip to Qatar this week to spend more time recovering at home from an operation, his office said on Wednesday.Erdogan, 57, underwent abdominal surgery on Nov. 26 and has been resting and out of the public eye since then.
His absence - which has led to the cancellation of two consecutive cabinet meetings despite there being four deputy prime ministers - has caused some commentators to reflect on what void Erdogan would leave if anything happened to him.
Having led Turkey for the past decade, Erdogan dominates the political landscape, and all key decisions rest with him.