He is angry with vegetable-dealers too
once spoke of terrorist acts committed with a pen. Ahead of local elections, he has turned his attention to those committed with vegetables. “They’ve made aubergine, tomato, potato and cucumber prices increase,” he told a rally last month, referring to wholesalers suspected of hoarding. “They are spreading terror.”
Despite the government’s attempts to distract voters, the economy will weigh heavily on the minds of most Turks when they elect mayors and councillors on March 31st. Overall, Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development party has done well in this area. Since 2002, whenfirst came to power, the economy has expanded by an annual average of 5%. Millions of Turks have propelled themselves out of poverty.
Mr Erdogan and his allies want to teach Mr Yavas a lesson. Earlier this month, the pro-government press dug up old allegations linking the mayoral hopeful to a counterfeit cheque. Days later, prosecutors launched an investigation. Mr Erdogan has since threatened that Mr Yavas will pay “a heavy price” after the elections, suggesting he may be removed from office.
Mr Erdogan has indeed used every weapon in his arsenal to galvanise his religious base. At rallies, he has falsely accused the West of playing a role in the recent mosque attack in New Zealand, the opposition of taking orders from terrorists, and feminist protesters of booing the call to prayer. A week before the election, the president proposed converting Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine cathedral turned into a mosque by the Ottomans and into a museum by Ataturk, back into a mosque again.
Turkey’s president has campaigned as if his future depended on the local elections. It does not. Barring a truly calamitous showing and calls for an early general election, Mr Erdogan will not face another vote for up to four years. But he will have to face millions of Turks who care less about the conspiracies their leader conjures up than they do about the economy.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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