So just as in the Turkish presidential system à la Erdogan, the man at the top could previously be credited with all the successes, so today he is also held responsible for dealing with the devastating earthquake and thus also for the consequences. A discussion has therefore begun in Turkey about the part played by the presidential system in this tragedy, which replaced parliamentary democracy in 2018 and in which all power is concentrated in one person, Erdogan.
The preliminary balance is devastating. Because Erdogan has weakened and partially gutted the country’s institutions, he has abolished control mechanisms and aligned the state to itself. The legitimate question is whether the state would have reacted better with a different system.
The AKP is getting nervous
The parliamentary and presidential elections, scheduled for May 14, will also be a referendum on Erdogan’s presidential system. It is still unclear whether they will take place as planned. The constitution would allow a postponement until mid-June. A shift beyond this is only permissible in the event of war.
Erdogan’s AKP, which already has the economic crisis around its neck like a log, is getting nervous. Because the obvious failure of the state falls back solely on the party that has been in power for two decades and its chairman.
A week after the catastrophe, the mood changes, and the grief increasingly turns to anger. The civil protection agency AFAD, which reports to Erdogan, is proving to be an overwhelmed, cumbersome bureaucratic apparatus. The fact that private Turkish and foreign aid is being labeled as AFAD and AKP is causing outrage.
Social tensions threaten the cities outside the earthquake area. Because millions of people who have become homeless are already flocking to the big cities in the west of the country in search of a new life. The consequences of the catastrophe will occupy Turkey for a long time.