Western media, including government radio stations, attacked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the elections entered their crucial phase, which raises questions about the secrets and motives of the harsh criticism directed at Erdogan.
Next Sunday, voters inside Turkey will go to the polls to elect a new parliament and president for the country, while Erdogan aspires to win a new term that enables him to remain in power until 2027.
During the recent period, many Western newspapers turned their pens towards Turkey to criticize its 69-year-old president, and to defend his most prominent rival in the presidential elections and the candidate of the major Turkish opposition parties, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
The Economist sparked widespread controversy after the magazine wrote on the cover of its latest publication the phrase “the most important electoral event in 2023,” describing the Turkish president as a “dictator” and saying that “Erdogan must leave.”
The magazine, which had previously attacked Erdogan, argues that “the elections in Turkey are on the abyss, and if Erdogan loses, it will be a stunning political reversal with global consequences,” claiming that “the Turkish people will be freer, less afraid – and in time – and more prosperous.” .
She added, “The new government will mend the cracked relations with the West, including with NATO,” considering that “Erdogan was a disruptive player in the Middle East and sought closer relations with Russia.”
“Erdogan’s ouster will show Democrats everywhere that strongmen can be defeated,” the magazine said.
On the other hand, she openly expressed her support for the opposition candidate, who is 5 years older than Erdogan, and said: “If Kemal Kilicdaroglu wins the presidency, this will be a great moment for Turkey, Europe and the global struggle for real democracy. We warmly support the opposition candidate.”
If Kemal Kilicdaroglu wins the presidency, it would be a huge moment for Turkey, Europe and the global struggle for genuine democracy. We warmly endorse the opposition’s candidate
– The Economist (@TheEconomist) May 6, 2023
The Turkish president’s response to the magazine was not long in coming, as Erdogan said that his country would not allow its domestic policy to be directed through the covers of magazines, which he considered an “executive apparatus of global powers.”
Erdogan added, through his accounts on social media: “Through the century of Turkey, we will raise all these diplomatic successes to the summit,” saying that Turkey, through its political, diplomatic and military moves, is “tightening the screws on terrorist organizations,” as he described it.
German media
The German magazine “Der Spiegel” sparked widespread anger on social media platforms in Turkey, because of the cover photo for this week’s issue, in which the Ottoman crescent and the symbol of the Turkish state appeared broken, and a broken throne on which the current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sits, which many saw as a great insult to Turkey.
“Der Spiegel” headlined the controversial image on the cover of its latest issue with “Erdogan, chaos or division in the event of a loss,” in reference to dangerous turns that Turkey may witness after the elections scheduled for May 14.
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