Politico: Earthquake dealt a blow to Erdogan's presidential ambitions

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The Turkish government, headed by President Recep Erdogan, who expected to receive additional political points in the presidential election campaign against the backdrop of a devastating earthquake, failed. The leadership of the republic may postpone the elections, as a negative reaction is spreading in society and the opinion that over the twenty years of Erdogan's rule and the ruling party have not prepared the country for cataclysms. Naturally, rumors are spreading that the elections will be postponed, since now Erdogan will lose them.

Devastating earthquakes could delay upcoming elections as Turkey's president faces public backlash fueled by opposition political platforms. The number of victims of the elements is growing, in connection with this, the danger for Erdogan to become the one who is accused of all sins, from the economic crisis to corruption in the construction industry, which turned out to be unprepared for innovation in the construction of housing of the appropriate level, is growing.



According to the publication Politico, the unsuccessful actions of the previous government during a strong earthquake in northwestern Turkey in 1999 gave Erdogan's AK Party the opportunity to enlist the support of the population and come to power. Now, the earthquake of 2023 will deal a blow to his presidential ambitions, as the authorities not only fail to cope, but with their actions have led to an increase in the scale of the disaster. So Erdogan failed to create the appearance of caring for the people, to rally the electorate around him against the backdrop of a national catastrophe and thereby ensure victory in the elections.

Government critics say Turkey's disaster-fighting budget has instead been spent on government-led highway projects. In many areas, the collapsed buildings were built in early 2010, or as recently as the last couple of years, and had to comply with earthquake regulations in place since the 1999 disaster. But in reality, everything turned out to be the opposite. It is not surprising that, realizing the deplorable state of the current government, the elections are likely to be postponed in order to try to keep the country's main post for themselves, the publication summarizes.
6 comments
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  1. prior
    prior
    +2
    11 February 2023 08: 44
    Yeah.
    Presiding in Turkey after such an earthquake is still a pleasure.
  2. Irek
    Irek
    +1
    11 February 2023 08: 45
    Friends of the West have no chance, even though they will try to bring these to power .....

  3. Rinat
    Rinat
    +2
    11 February 2023 08: 58
    Now the president of Turkey should be a man who loves his homeland and is ready to give his life completely to restore the ruined and make serious changes in domestic politics. New houses are destroyed due to bad building regulations. These rules have been created and maintained for the last twenty years. Erdogan has little chance of winning in this regard.
  4. Sergey Latyshev
    Sergey Latyshev
    -5
    11 February 2023 10: 30
    Endogan has before his eyes a lot of examples of how to choose.
    Zeroing, new constitution, electronic and remote voting, electronic counting of votes.
    Get out. Especially such an experienced killer of pilots / terrorist / partner.

    Well, the rest ... Capitalism in the yard. The presidents themselves do not build houses, what are the complaints against them?
  5. lord-palladore-11045
    lord-palladore-11045
    0
    11 February 2023 10: 43
    Erdogan did not keep track of the construction business, this is a big minus for him. It is difficult to say what will happen next in Turkey, the guarantee of the traditional Turkish diversity, and probably deceit. I would like to think that the situation will stabilize, and Turkey will choose its friends more carefully.
  6. Bakht
    Bakht
    0
    11 February 2023 10: 54
    It is difficult to say whether Erdogan will remain in power. Elections are likely to be postponed. But not for long. So far, the date of July 18 has been announced.
    But blaming everything on the shortcomings of construction is already pure demagoguery. I am far from the idea that everything is built according to the standards. I see construction in Azerbaijan. God forbid an earthquake. Half the city will crumble.
    But in Turkey there was an earthquake with a magnitude of about 8. The first two shocks were 7,5 and 7,8. No building can withstand such a blow. And the shocks were long. They write about 75 seconds. It's catastrophic. So the destruction of buildings would be regardless of the quality of construction.
    This does not justify corruption in construction. But you have to be honest. A magnitude of 7,8 and a 75 second earthquake nullify any building code.