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rock star? That was never the goal of Kemal Kilicdaroglu (74). He earned his first living as a schoolboy in the brick kilns of Eastern Anatolia, spent most of his career in the civil service offices of the Turkish Social Security Institution and worked his way up to party chairman in the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). ). Not very glamorous, the whole thing. And perhaps that is precisely why it is a good idea to drain the political quagmire in which Turkey is trapped after 20 years under Recep Tayyip Erdogan (69).
At least, that is how the 500,000 fans gathered on this sunny spring afternoon on the boulevard of the Turkish coastal town of Izmir see it.
They cheer deliriously when a short bald man appears in front of the stage with some notes in his hand. Kilicdaroglu’s supporters celebrate their “uncle” like a rock star.
Kilicdaroglu is far ahead of Erdogan in polls
“We will throw him out of his palace”, “Uncle Kemal” shouts into the microphone. A million hands go up, loud cheering pops from 500,000 throats across the red flag boardwalk. Even the seagulls, which otherwise stoically circle above the city, fly out to sea in a fright.
There is something threatening about the Turkish election campaign, and not just for the seagulls. It is loud, accompanied by martial music, celebrated by crowds as you can only find on the Zurich Street Parade in this country.
Turkey’s presidential elections have never been as fiercely contested as this year. For the first time since Erdogan came to power in 2003, an opposition candidate stands a serious chance of deposing Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian ruler. Kilicdaroglu is several percentage points ahead of Erdogan in the polls.
The reason for this is the surprising solidarity of the divided Turkish opposition. Six parties have united behind Kilicdaroglu: a colorful political medley from the far left to the far right with the sole common goal of kicking Erdogan out and abolishing the anti-democratic presidential system in place since 2017.
Erdogan’s LGBTQ accusation
Erdogan’s response to the political threat is becoming increasingly hateful. However, the almost complete control of the Turkish media (de Incorrect reporting of Kilicdaroglu’s monster meeting in Izmir as a “CHP meeting”. and doesn’t show a single picture of the cheering crowd) and the arrests of tens of thousands of opposition politicians, judges and journalists don’t seem to be enough this time to silence his opponents.
That is why Erdogan’s interior minister recently let loose the narrative that the West is planning a coup attempt in the May 14 elections. Erdogan himself has been bellowing for several days that Kilicdaroglu’s alliance is an anti-family LGBTQ association. The president himself has handed out notebooks at his campaign stands for children to color in sketches of Turkish Bayraktar drones, newly built mosques and other Erdogan achievements.
Kilicdaroglu’s promise of billions
Kilicdaroglu refrains from such populist measures. Instead, he promises Turkey a “new spring” on his election posters. Justice will no longer be a foreign word and political prisoners will be released from the dungeons.
He is believed: in 2017, he marched 420 kilometers from Ankara to Istanbul to protest the capture of an ally. Tens of thousands followed him on the 25-day tour, earning him the nickname “Gandhi”.
But Kilicdaroglu doesn’t seem as humble as the Indian leader. “There will be 300 billion in foreign investment,” he announces to the cheering people in Izmir. All you need to do is get inflation under control (which reached a whopping 85.5 percent in Turkey in 2022). But Kilicdaroglu alone will not straighten out the system. In order to turn economic policy inside out and abolish Erdogan’s sultanesque presidential system, he would need anything but a sure majority in parliament in addition to winning the election.
Nevertheless, his appearance makes the Erdogan tired among the 60 million Turks eligible to vote. “He is one of us, he thinks like us. He is the right one for our children’s future,” said Fatmar, 48, on the sidelines of the rally in Izmir. “His government will send away the four million refugees in our country , so that they do not take jobs from us Turks,” hopes Yasin (17). “If Erdogan does not go now, our country will finally become a dictatorship,” says Fikret (64).
Erdogan’s victory is in God’s hands
It sounded very different the day before in Izmir, when Erdogan – in front of less than half as many people – made his campaign comeback after a mandatory break due to illness. “I remember how in the 1980s we had to stand in long lines to buy cooking oil and gasoline. Today everything is going well,’ says Muhliz (70).
“The pandemic is to blame for inflation. And our country is being destabilized by putschists and the Americans,” complains Mujahid (60). Who will win is now in God’s hands. The man with snow-white hair says that his will be done.
Whether Erdogan accepts God’s will if God does not want what he wants: we will know that after the second vote on May 28 at the latest.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
