Erdogan’s power is crumbling
“It’s about a return to the rule of law”
05/12/2023, 05:01 p.m
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could lose power. That would be a signal of hope for the country’s economy – as Jannes Tessmann from the Mercator Foundation explains in the “Zero Hour” podcast.
It is likely to be one of the most important political decisions of the year: Turkey’s parliament and president will be re-elected, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could lose his power as a result. The election is also of great importance for the financial markets: Erdogan’s policies fueled the runaway inflation even further, burdened the Turkish currency and drove investors out of the country. “The economy plays the most important role in the election campaign,” says Jannes Tessmann, head of the Istanbul office of the Mercator Foundation, in the podcast “The Zero Hour”.
Inflation has caused the cost of living for Turks to skyrocket and made the population feel insecure. “People’s purchasing power is melting away. And with the current economic model, there seems to be no end in sight,” says Tessmann. But it is also about a “return to the rule of law”.
Erdogan’s most important challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, promises to strengthen institutions such as the central bank and the judiciary, which had lost independence under Erdogan. To this end, Kilidaroglu has assembled a team that includes a number of experienced economic politicians.
Under a new government, relations with the European Union could also improve significantly. “The opposition alliance has decided to take EU membership more seriously again,” says Tessmann. “I think that’s believable.” However, it is also important how seriously the EU approaches the Turkish side. “I’m afraid that the EU doesn’t know that for sure,” says Tessmann.
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