background
In his 20 years in power, Turkish President Erdogan has shaped his country like Atatürk, the founder of the republic, has done before him. In the meantime, he is dividing Turkey more than ever, but is going into today’s runoff as a favorite. There are many reasons for this.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is omnipresent. If you listen to Turkish news, it is possible that his name will appear at least once in almost every message. Before the first ballot in the parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14, his presence in the media was so strong that an international delegation of election observers spoke of “unfair conditions”, among other things.
Erdogan speaks at school festivals, at hospital openings, at commemorative events and on Women’s Day. He likes to show his charming side. That also goes down well with the women in the audience.
Sometimes you have the feeling that Erdogan must have a double, because one person alone cannot make all these appointments. One supporter put it enthusiastically – Erdogan can’t take care of everything, a single Tayyip Erdogan isn’t enough to do everything.
Ardent admirers in the hometown
But not only the women adore him. He has ardent admirers, especially in Rize on the Black Sea. That’s where Erdogan’s family comes from.
His fans in Rize are full of praise – they love him “really very much”, may God grant him a long life, says one man – and: “Turkey will not find a man like that again. He is not only the leader of Turkey, he can lead the world. And he is a leader of Islam.” You have to acknowledge that.
departure from secularism
In 20 years in power, Erdogan gave the devout Turks a voice again and brought the headscarf back into public view. For decades it was almost frowned upon and banned in schools and universities.
No wonder one supporter declares that Erdogan “protects our spiritual values and contributes to the development of our country”.
Some admire him, others criticize him. Erdogan splits. The Istanbul scholar of Islam Ihsan Eliacik denies that the president defends Islamic values - “he abuses them. I see Erdogan more as a politician for whom power, money and nepotism are more important than God and religion.” Erdogan wants to be “an absolute ruler” – and religion also dictates a modest life. But Erdogan lives “in a magnificent palace”.
The presidential palace in Ankara is meant. Erdogan had it built a few years ago, with around 1,000 rooms.
Difficult relationship with Germany
Relations with Germany reached a low point in 2017. Some German cities did not allow Turkish politicians to appear before the constitutional referendum.
Erdogan railed that Germany had “nothing in common with democracy anymore” and that current practice differed “in no way from the practices of the Nazi era”.
In Germany, officials from non-EU countries have needed a permit for public appearances since 2017, and they are no longer allowed to appear in the months before elections. At the time, the federal government had reacted directly to Erdogan’s election campaign plans. This also limited his AKP’s opportunities to advertise for himself and him in Germany this year. Nevertheless, the party and the president won the majority here in the first ballot.
Rare through ball
Erdogan is an experienced election campaigner, and in his many speeches he rarely gives his opponents a through ball that they can use against him.
However, he made one such mistake during the campaign for the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2018. He told supporters that he had been elected to all of his posts by the people – as mayor of Istanbul, as prime minister and as president. And no matter how much his opponents wanted to overthrow him, he only resigned “if one day my people should say ‘Tamam’, meaning: enough”.
And his opponents said “Tamam” thousands of times in an Internet campaign. He still won the election.
Erdogan has to stand in a runoff election for the first time this year, but is the favorite – despite health problems that became clear during the election campaign, despite the severe economic crisis in his country and despite criticism of the authorities after the devastating earthquake. Another five years in the presidential palace – aEven after 20 years at the helm of Turkey, Erdogan still has a long way to go.