It is not yet clear whether the mood in the country will turn against Erdogan.
(Photo: IMAGO/APAimages)
Berlin, Ankara More than 17,000 dead, 70,000 injured – while more than 100,000 official helpers are still on duty to find survivors in the rubble, the question of the country’s political future also arises in the capital Ankara.
On May 14, Turkey’s parliament and president are to be elected by the people. The head-to-head race between head of state Erdogan and possible opponents has an unpredictable component with the earthquake: How well will the rescue measures go, how well will the reconstruction work? And can you vote at all?
The Turkish President is already being criticized, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself is apparently aware that the natural disaster could mean his political end. Several people who had criticized the rescue efforts have already been taken into police custody. In addition, the short message service Twitter, about which many had expressed their displeasure, was temporarily blocked until Thursday.
Continuity or a new beginning? Erdogan has now been in office for 20 years, and the election is considered extremely important for the country. Everyone in the country expects a high turnout. A few observers doubt, however, that elections can be held at all in May because of the massive destruction in the disaster area. Because many of the roads there are impassable, numerous citizens could not reach the ballot boxes, according to widespread skepticism.
From a legal point of view, however, a postponement would be difficult. Because the legislative period ends in Turkey on June 18th. According to the constitution, the elections can only be postponed until after the country is at war.
Political observers also point out that Turkey will probably press ahead with reconstruction at a rapid pace. This is shown by the experience of past tragedies, such as terrorist attacks.
In May 2016, bomb attacks at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport killed more than 50 people and parts of the departure terminal collapsed.
But the very next day, flights took off from there again. Two months later, an attempted coup shook the entire country. The insurgents used fighter jets to attack government buildings, airports and parliament, killing hundreds of people. Here, too, the next day everything went almost as if there hadn’t been a riot.
Nevertheless, the opposition party CHP is already trying to make political capital out of the earthquake. After aid shipments from opposition municipalities like Istanbul and Ankara were brought to the worst-hit areas without official authorization from the authorities, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu tweeted: “Let them arrest us.”
>> Read here: Millennium catastrophe: Criticism of Erdogan’s crisis management is growing
What is striking is not only Kilicdaroglu’s aggressive style, who has been trying to overthrow Erdogan for more than ten years. The 74-year-old published a professionally produced video on Wednesday morning showing him in front of a destroyed house. His message: “If there is anyone who is responsible for this destruction, it is Erdogan.”
The opposition politician accuses Erdogan of failure in civil protection.
(Photo: Reuters)
However, it is also striking that he receives hardly any support from his opposition alliance “Alliance of the Nation”, which consists of a total of six parties. It is therefore not yet clear whether the sometimes justified criticism of the government’s crisis management will resonate with voters. Even in his own ranks, Kilicdaroglu has not gotten very far.
Meral Aksener, head of the second-largest Iyi party in the alliance, has so far been largely reluctant to make any political statements. On Thursday, during a visit to the largely devastated city of Kahramanmaras, she said: “No matter how this country is being governed, I am proud of everyone who is helping.”
The head of the Deva party also held back with direct criticism of the relief measures. Ali Babacan, a former minister under Erdogan and now also a member of the opposition alliance, demonstratively refrained from political polarization in view of the human suffering.
On Wednesday evening, a few hours after his opposition colleague Kilicdaroglu delivered his angry speech, Babacan stood in front of collapsed buildings in the completely destroyed city of Antakya. His message in front of the television cameras: “This catastrophe cannot be dealt with with anger, hatred or threats.”
More: Erdogan is traveling to the crisis area for the first time