Istanbul: colossal rally in support of Erdogan in Istanbul

Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to a massive crowd of 1.7 million on Sunday, a week before a presidential election that could oust him as Turkey’s leader. Although the latest polls show that he managed to reverse the extremely negative data of previous weeks.

BÜYÜK İSTANBUL MİTİNGİ
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN
SEVGİSİ BİR BAŞKA GÜZEL İSTANBUL DOĞRU ADIMLARLA DOĞRU ADAM YOLA DEVAM DİYOR. pic.twitter.com/fM4z1YM90Q

— NİMETULLAH GÖNÜL🟢 (@GonulNimetullah) May 7, 2023

By Sunday afternoon, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the Atatürk Airport area, where 40 giant screens were installed. Everyone is talking about the biggest rally in the history of Turkey, and this is probably the biggest campaign rally not only in Turkey, but also in the Balkans and the Middle East. In his speech, Erdogan spoke about Istanbul, where he took his first steps in politics.

“I love him from the very birth. This is not just a city with its borders and its people, this is Turkey. This is the city of our brothers and sisters from the Balkans to the Caucasus, – he said. – EIf you asked me where I would like to live between heaven and earth, I would choose Istanbul.”

Since July, Erdogan has promised to normalize the salaries of civil servants to deal with inflation, which is still in double digits. He also turned on foreigners, saying that “they are uncomfortable with every achievement of Turkey and do not hesitate to speak openly about it.” However, he did not specify who he was referring to. He also lashed out at the opposition, accusing them of having ties to the LGBT community.

During his long 21-year tenure as prime minister and president, he says, “we have given jobs and food to 21 million people, built 13.5 million new homes, improved the quality of life for our nation.” “Together we will build a century of Turkey,” he promised the audience.

Meanwhile, polls show that Erdogan and 74-year-old united opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu stand a chance of receiving about 45% of the vote in the first round. Turkey is in a very difficult economic situation, the inflation rate is one of the highest in the world. According to official data, it exceeds 51%, and according to independent experts it is 112%. Additional pressure on the economy comes from the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, which caused damage in excess of $103 billion – the equivalent of 9% of the Turkish economy projected for this year.

A coalition of six opposition parties called the People’s Alliance is exploiting the weaknesses of its rival’s economic policies to its advantage. Kilicdaroglu plans to return parliamentary democracy and reformat the economy, in particular, through the fight against state monopolies in its various segments. The opposition also draws attention to the corruption that has become the basis for the existence of the Erdogan regime. It is proposed to dismantle the super-presidential system of power and transfer it to the government.

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