On March 14, 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the Prime Minister of Turkey, and has since ruled the country for two consecutive decades. This tenure is longer than that of any other Turkish ruler since the establishment of the Turkish Republic, and in fact many reduce the discussion of Turkey to the discussion of Erdogan himself.
Erdogan's success story – from growing up in a poor neighborhood in Istanbul to become the President of Turkey with a palace of more than a thousand rooms – is one explanation for the intense interest he arouses. However, the success story also has a dark side, both in the form of Turkey's decline in democracy indicators in the second decade of Erdogan's rule, and in the fact that the country is in a deep economic crisis, which is expected to worsen following the massive destruction caused by the two deadly earthquakes last month. Beyond that, the question arises as to who is “the real Erdogan” – the one who promoted liberal reforms in the first decade of his rule, or the one who in the second decade changed direction and strengthened his control through extensive politicization of the public sector and persecution of civil society organizations and media bodies not under the control of the government or its associates.
Parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey are scheduled for May 14. There is ostensibly a question mark regarding the continuation of Erdogan's rule, when the opposition parties are united in the desire to replace him and in the demand to restore the system of government from the presidential regime that Erdogan heads to a parliamentary regime. In addition, Erdogan and his party came to power in part because of the ramifications of the 1999 earthquake in Turkey and the economic crisis that hit the country in 2001. However, since the government and the opposition elements do not begin the election campaign from the same starting point, including in terms of access to the media, Erdogan has a distinct advantage. Moreover, while Erdogan's opponents firmly blame the government for the fact that the results of the earthquakes were so devastating (with some 50,000 dead counted so far and about one and a half million homeless), Erdogan's supporters claim that the earthquakes are the will of fate, and that blame should be ascribed mainly to greedy contractors whose negligence was reflected in the large number of deaths. The elections in May are therefore expected to be a close fight.
On March 14, 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the Prime Minister of Turkey, and has since ruled the country for two consecutive decades. This tenure is longer than that of any other Turkish ruler since the establishment of the Turkish Republic, and in fact many reduce the discussion of Turkey to the discussion of Erdogan himself.
Erdogan's success story – from growing up in a poor neighborhood in Istanbul to become the President of Turkey with a palace of more than a thousand rooms – is one explanation for the intense interest he arouses. However, the success story also has a dark side, both in the form of Turkey's decline in democracy indicators in the second decade of Erdogan's rule, and in the fact that the country is in a deep economic crisis, which is expected to worsen following the massive destruction caused by the two deadly earthquakes last month. Beyond that, the question arises as to who is “the real Erdogan” – the one who promoted liberal reforms in the first decade of his rule, or the one who in the second decade changed direction and strengthened his control through extensive politicization of the public sector and persecution of civil society organizations and media bodies not under the control of the government or its associates.
Parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey are scheduled for May 14. There is ostensibly a question mark regarding the continuation of Erdogan's rule, when the opposition parties are united in the desire to replace him and in the demand to restore the system of government from the presidential regime that Erdogan heads to a parliamentary regime. In addition, Erdogan and his party came to power in part because of the ramifications of the 1999 earthquake in Turkey and the economic crisis that hit the country in 2001. However, since the government and the opposition elements do not begin the election campaign from the same starting point, including in terms of access to the media, Erdogan has a distinct advantage. Moreover, while Erdogan's opponents firmly blame the government for the fact that the results of the earthquakes were so devastating (with some 50,000 dead counted so far and about one and a half million homeless), Erdogan's supporters claim that the earthquakes are the will of fate, and that blame should be ascribed mainly to greedy contractors whose negligence was reflected in the large number of deaths. The elections in May are therefore expected to be a close fight.