The opposition is frustrated, and Erdogan remains in power.. French newspapers: fair elections, and Erdogan can count on religious youth who were fueled by Islamic nationalism
The French press showed great interest in the Turkish elections, and most of them talked about the strength of the position of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which some saw as a "real miracle" and others saw evidence that Erdogan has the support of his people, calling on the West to accept that, while one of the newspapers attributed the credit for it to Religious youth fueled by Islamic nationalism, but all agreed on the supremacy of the president and the frustration of the opposition.
And the newspaper " Le Figaro " – in an analysis of it – stated that the insanity of the media in Europe depends on the high possibility of a setback for Erdogan, who was forgetting the weight of the religious youth who belong to an identity that does not believe in Western standards.
And it showed that this media looks at Turkey through a distorted mirror that focuses on the main urban centers such as Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, and ignores Anatolian Turkey, which sees Erdogan as the only candidate capable of ensuring the stability of a country surrounded by hotbeds of tension and can raise Turkey's voice loudly at the international level.
Analyst Tigran Yegavian said – in his article for the newspaper – that Erdogan can count on the unconditional support of the powerful Turkish diaspora in Western Europe, which mobilizes greatly in his favor, and on the transfer of votes from the far right, which is sensitive to his rhetoric.
However, he expressed his doubts about the leader of the opposition bloc, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who said that he had obtained in the first round everything he could get, especially since no matter how much he claimed the legacy of Ataturk or was said to be "Turkish Gandhi", he will remain in everyone's eyes an Alawite, and it is unreasonable for a voter to surrender. An ordinary Sunni Turk, the reins of power have almost been unleashed since the last constitutional reform by a member of a non-traditional sect.
For its part, " Liberation " saw that Erdogan's victory with 49.51% of the votes lied the opinion polls, so that the researcher in political science, Bayram Balsi, said that he was very surprised, disappointed, and felt ashamed because he misunderstood the Turkish voters, and felt that he had fallen into a trap. The trap of anti-Erdogan readings among the opposition intellectuals in Istanbul, and thus he sees the result of the presidential elections as a miracle, as well as the result of the legislative elections, in which the Justice and Development Party retained half of the seats in Parliament.
Fair elections
As for L'Obs magazine, it put a prominent headline calling for the necessity of recognizing that the Turkish elections proved that Erdogan enjoys the support of his people, noting that the result is 49.5% disappointing for those who head a coalition of 6 opposition parties that only succeeded in preventing the president. Passage in the first round.
In an interview with the researcher Bayram Balsi, who said before the elections that "Erdogan's model is breathing", the researcher apologized for his mistake resulting from the presence of an economic crisis and a prominent opposition, and said that he was happy that there was no fraud or violence, and concluded that Erdogan's opponent would accept his defeat because he is not He has an interest in challenging the legality of ballot boxes which he knows Turks respect, and there is no need for Erdogan to change his policy if he wins because it works.
In a report , Mediapart focused on the harsh disappointment of the Turkish opposition, which was confirmed by numerous opinion polls by winning the first round of the presidential elections. "We will win the second round," he said in a public statement Sunday night.
The site warned that the opposition's victory in the second round might be possible if the votes of the third candidate, who received 5%, were transferred to it. These are right-wing votes that actually oppose Erdogan, but they also do not see his opponent with satisfaction due to the presence of the Kurds and the left on his side.
Despite the economic crisis hitting Turkey hard and despite the stigma of tyranny cast on Erdogan, the president has managed to position himself as the preferred candidate for the second round.
"He restored our country to its former glory," tea seller Murad proudly says.
Complicated Relationship
Among the opposition, hope has given way to despair. "Erdoğan is likely to win in the second round," says Hussein, an engineer who volunteered as an auditor for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), after returning home. Even if the opposition wins, it will be a miracle."
The Swiss newspaper "Le Temps" did not differ from its friends from the French newspapers, as it saw – in an editorial – that the Turkish opposition's hopes of removing Erdogan had faded, although there was a second round, and it believed that Europe should also settle itself on the possible victory. for the outgoing president.
The newspaper pointed out that a new victory has become possible for Erdogan's candidate, which would make the relationship between him and the West more complicated, and the issue of respect for human rights was likely to become central again, but with a kind of hypocritical satisfaction on the part of Westerners. And she concluded that Turkey is destined to remain forever in Europe's waiting room, even though it is seen as a very convenient bulwark against the dangers that frighten Europe so much, such as instability and migrants.
