The mass demonstrations in Taksim Square against the demolition of Gezi Park in Istanbul, Turkey, have come to an end. Now, only a few hundred people still stand in the square to show their dissatisfaction toward Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

On the surface, there was no reason for the demonstration. In the decade Erdogan has been in power, his country's GDP per capita has more than doubled, free education and medical care have been extended, and domestic legislation has come close to EU standards.

It cannot be denied that the achievements made during Erdogan's tenure have been remarkable. However, when talking with local residents, it is easy to meet some who are full of complaints about Erdogan.

From their perspective, Erdogan's policymaking is autocratic, and even opposition parties are too weak to rein in the ruling Justice and Development Party. They also believe that Erdogan is trying to impose his conservative Islamic values on Turkish society. An interest group has been established in the last decade, and they may have made a fortune by making use of Erdogan's status.

Of course, there are still 52 percent of people in this country who stand in line with Erdogan. If you go deep into the towns and villages of the Anatolian Peninsula, you may find that people there are quite different from the white-collar class in Istanbul due to their conservative values.

Women there always wear headscarves and piously pray in the direction of Mecca when they hear the call to prayer. These people are Erdogan's main supporters.

The gap within Turkish society is increasingly widening. Secular elites in Turkey do not agree with Erdogan's leadership style and values, and hope that he can listen more to the voice of the masses and learn compromise and tolerance.

Nonetheless, relying on the high support rate in the middle and lower classes, Erdogan seems quite arrogant and organized his supporters to rally against the protests.

Although this beautiful place seems turbulent now, Turks are still very proud of their country. National flags fly everywhere, including in parks and on top of residential buildings.

Turks sincerely hope that this incident can be a turning point for Turkey in perfecting its democratic politics. Then, middle classes can more clearly express their demands to the government, opposition parties can restructure their forces to contend with the Justice and Development Party and civil society can play a role in supervising the government.

Meanwhile, the middle class is still worried that an arrogant prime minister will make secular liberals a common enemy to all and favor more conservative values so as to unite his supporters and win the 2015 parliamentary elections. If these worries are realized, the gap within the country will grow even wider and a similar crisis may occur in the future.

The events that have taken place in Turkey may be the inescapable setbacks that every country must pass through amid their modernization and democratization.

The Turkish economy has developed rapidly for years, and urban middle classes have close contacts with the West. They recognize Turkey as a European country and cannot bear an insufferably arrogant prime minister who makes policies without discussing them, even though he has made economic achievements.

But the disappointing reality is that Erdogan is unwilling to admit mistakes or make compromises. This produces emotional antagonism, which can be eliminated merely when the government learns compromise, tolerance and respect, and lets people's will be expressed not only in elections, but also in policymaking.

The author is a reporter with People's Daily currently stationed in Egypt. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn