Erdogan’s Comment From British Newspaper The Times: Even If He Wins The Election…

With just two weeks to go before the May 14 election, Britain’s Sunday Times wrote a remarkable analysis, looking at both President Erdogan and the electoral process. In Louise Callaghan’s article, the headline “Is Erdogan about to lose the power he has held for 20 years?” was used? and the comment “he is critically important” to the election was made.

While the victory of the opposition bloc in Istanbul and Ankara in the 2019 local elections was claimed to prove Erdogan beatable, “Erdogan’s AKP party, which opposed the first election result in Istanbul, lost by a larger margin. İmamoğlu won with the promise of hope and change. This message was Erdogan’s message 25 years ago.” In the analysis, “A country negotiating its EU membership in 16 years in power has become a country where the Turkish lira is in free fall and people are starving. The queues to buy cheap bread got longer. Shopkeepers now sell a tomato to mothers who cannot afford a kilo of tomatoes to feed their children.

The Sunday Times news focused on Erdogan’s life and political career, as the scenarios for the May 14 election were examined.

In the British media article, “The AKP now symbolizes oppression, not hope. On May 14, Türkiye prepares for its biggest election in years. Erdogan will be against the 74-year-old Kılıçdaroğlu. Kılıçdaroğlu takes a calmer approach to Erdoğan’s belligerent style. Kılıçdaroğlu vows to restore Turkey’s democracy and return to EU membership and improve relations with the West.

“THE LOSS OF ERDOGAN NO LONGER SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE”

While drawing attention to the fact that the standard of living for Turks has fallen and prices have risen due to Erdogan’s economic moves, “the illiberal approach, including free speech, upset many voters. Now, the possibility of Erdogan losing is not impossible. 100 years after the founding of the Republic, Türkiye is once again on the verge of a great change.

The article commented that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s approach was “calm”.

While speaking with President Erdogan’s friends and family, the article also included statements by a person who did not disclose his name but was said to be close to Erdogan. “Someone close to Erdogan said that he was alone. He stayed in the palace that he never wanted for his friends and kept it separate from the people who held power. In the episode titled “He Is Alone and Has No Communication”, it was also claimed that Erdogan only went to a cafe near his home in Istanbul to talk to someone.

“CONTACT YOUR CONSULTANTS”

In the article, “Even AKP politicians said in private that the competition was lost. Erdogan’s advisers today range from the capricious to the hard-working and fixer. It was also claimed that İbrahim Kalın, Fahrettin Altun, Hasan Doğan and Selçuk Bayraktar were the names Erdoğan trusted the most.

“But these names failed to control social media,” the Sunday Times reported. Your communication seems to be disconnected. Images of Erdogan throwing tea at citizens after the forest fires or throwing toys at children who survived the earthquakes in February were published. Any consultant could have stopped them.”

“NO DETENTION FOR SHARING THE CONCERN OF YOUTH”

In the analysis, “The AKP has lost its sense of modernizing power. For many young conservatives, the problem is not pressure from secularists. They are more concerned with sharing something without risking being stopped on Twitter or TikTok.” It was said. A person who spoke to the newspaper and said that he was close to Erdogan said: “Erdogan was my hero and he remains my hero. We have seen progress, but that progress has not continued. The AKP was corrupted by power and distanced itself from its centre-right roots. Now their leaders have distanced themselves from the people they represent.”

Speaking to the newspaper, a person from Kasımpaşa named Hasan said: “The economy is very bad. It is very difficult to find work. And he is far from them in his palace. They all supported him,” he said.

WILL IT REMAIN ON THE POLITICAL SCENARIO?

In the last part of the article, “Erdogan is now struggling to maintain his political presence. In the poll conducted by the AKP in early April, the race between Erdogan and Kılıçdaroğlu was seen to be very close. It seems likely that the election will go to the second round. AKP stresses that if Erdogan loses, he will step down. Will he be able to manipulate the elections? What will he do if he loses? Will he flee the country or stay in politics and try his luck against the shaky opposition coalition until new elections? In the analysis, “Erdogan can still win in May. If he wins, Turkey’s incompatibility with the West, anti-liberalism and efforts to make Turkey a major mediator between Ukraine and Russia will likely continue. But whatever the outcome of this election, there has been a significant change.

Regarding this change in analysis, “Erdogan’s power no longer seems invincible. Erdogan’s power to control Turkey is weakening and democracy is surprisingly resilient, as he saw from the local election results.