constantly growing inflation makes them Turks citizens feel poorer and poorer. The quake left a hopeless loss of more than 50,000 dead and a series of government responses that many described as half-hearted. Moreover, the united opposition promises to reverse the country’s path to authoritarianism.

All this seemed not enough to deprive the Turkish president of re-election. OUR Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed to win Sunday’s elections, without gaining, however, the necessary majority to form a government, for the first time in history leading elections in Turkey in the second round.

Analyst forecasts

Most analysts say he will also win the May 28 contest, given the support he is expected to receive from Sinan Ogan’s far-right voters. The country’s largest news networks are owned by businessmen friendly to his government, leading to his over-advertising and glossing over the government’s mistakes. Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 165 out of 180 in its press freedom rankings. However, the fact that he failed to attract more than 50% of the voters, while he controls about 90% of the country’s media, testifies to the fatigue of a significant part of the electorate from his economic policies and the overconcentration of power in his hands. .

If Erdogan managed to get back on his feet, he owes it to his ability to survive. Mehmet Ali Kulat, an important election analyst who even predicted better results for the opposition, said that “strangely, the February 6 earthquake worked in Erdogan’s favour.” The President has pledged to build new homes in earthquake-hit areas within a year, drawing in not only homeless people but also residents in neighboring areas whose rents have skyrocketed as a result of an influx of people looking for housing.

Political identity

Erdogan managed to bind in the minds of many a strong and independent Turkey. He recently docked at a military ship in Istanbul, offering free admission to families, and became the owner of Turkey’s first electric vehicle. In foreign policy, he shows how he successfully promotes Turkish interests. “Political identity is ‘stuck’—well-established and not easily ‘moved’ with new information or experience,” wrote Howard Eisenstein, professor of history at St. Lawrence University. “Erdogan’s emphasis on nationalism, terrorism and Western conspiracies is not decorative for most voters: it lies at the heart of their worldview.”

In response to all this, the opposition made promises that many were afraid to believe. OUR Kemal Kilicdaroglu he led a six-party coalition, which many had doubts about. Accepts politicians from the extreme right to the left and from fanatical Islam to secularism. The fact that Kılıçdaroğlu himself belongs to a religious minority likely further discouraged voters, and their openness to Kurdish parties, which Erdoğan often accused of terrorism, created an atmosphere of fear.

“I’m worried that the other side will win and it will be bad for the country,” Melike Kurt, a young university graduate, said after voting for Erdogan on Sunday. “I am concerned that people who have been imprisoned for terrorism will be released,” he added.