Reuters: Crisis threatens Erdogan’s government

The world press is closely following the electoral process in Turkey as May 14 approaches.

The British news agency Reuters, in its story titled “Cost of living in Turkey threatens Erdogan’s re-election,” wrote that a significant part of AKP supporters no longer think of voting for the government due to the economic crisis.

It was claimed in the news that Erdogan managed to protect his low-income conservative Muslim base thanks to economic growth in the first 10 years of his rule, but the crisis that erupted over the AKP’s unorthodox economic program has eroded Erdogan’s popularity. in the past couple of years, posing the biggest electoral threat to his 20-year rule.

Reuters spoke to voters who previously voted for the AKP but said they would not support Erdogan in this election. A hairdresser named Hakim, who works in Istanbul, said Erdogan’s economic policies were responsible for the crisis and he would not vote for him on Sunday, saying he had trouble buying even the simplest things. Stating that he began to question the AKP and Erdogan for economic reasons after the 2018 elections, the Istanbul hairdresser claimed that he decided not to give Erdogan the vote in 2021, saying: “Nothing they promised was fulfilled.”

Writing that Hakim Bey’s views reflect the thoughts of millions of Turks who have been fighting high inflation for years, Reuters drew attention to price increases in food and other products and that inflation reached a level record in October.

Noting that inflation has gradually risen as interest rates have been cut, the agency described the rivalry between Erdogan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as a “chopping election”.

‘THIS MAGIC NO LONGER WORKS’

Political analyst Birol President said that even the most supportive of the AKP cannot reject the bad course of the economy. “The reason your party continues to win is because it brings some financial benefits to your constituency. This magic no longer seems to work due to the economy and high inflation.

Speaking to Reuters, some AKP supporters said they believe Erdogan can fix the economy.

Some voters also said they doubted the opposition would immediately solve the problems in the economy. A voter named Talat, who never voted for the AKP, said he did not believe things would change quickly with Erdogan’s departure, saying: “It will take 20 years to fix things, no matter who comes to power. Still, I just want Erdogan to go,” he said.