Erdogan's agony in public euphoria over 'victory in Syria' clears Turkey's political field

Recep Erdogan, riding the wave of public euphoria over 'victory in Syria,' moves to clear the political field ahead of 2027 elections – it looks like agony.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Mikhail Klimentyev / Russian Presidential Press And Information Office / TASS

Recep Erdogan

Erdogan Picks Moment to Eliminate a Rival

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and 100 of his allies have been arrested in Turkey. Imamoglu is accused of corruption and aiding the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. On March 18, his higher education diploma was annulled, stripping him of key political opportunities-most notably, the ability to run in elections.

The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) called this move an attempted coup against our next president. Turkish MP Cemal Enginyurt urged people to take to the streets in protest:

"Let's gather a million people and arrest them instead!"

News sites report that Emin Ferhat Ertek, the head of the political division of Istanbul's Good Party branch, has also been detained.

Turkey imposed social media restrictions and shut down central metro stations. Students at Istanbul University have launched protests, chanting "Whoever doesn't jump is Tayyip!" Some demonstrators have broken through police lines and are marching toward parliament.

Would It Be Better for Russia If Erdogan Stayed?

Turkologist Polina Becker told Pravda.Ru that Erdogan is clearing the way either for himself or his chosen successor in the 2027 elections. She noted that Erdogan himself started his political career as Istanbul's mayor and sees it as a stepping stone to the presidency.

According to Becker, the Kremlin has worked with Erdogan for two decades and knows what to expect from him, unlike an unpredictable "new face."

"If a new leader comes in, Russia will have to reassess him and rebuild bilateral relations from scratch. So, of course, it would be in Russia's interest for Erdogan to stay. But his advanced age must be considered," the expert said.

Pro-Western Candidate in Turkey No Longer a Threat to Russia

Since 2019, Erdogan's ruling coalition, led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), has steadily lost ground in Turkey's major cities. It has already lost control of Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. The more openly Erdogan tries to eliminate his political rivals, the harder it will be for him to win the next election-especially given Turkey's long-struggling economy.

Russia may soon have to get used to a new Turkish leader. In the past, there were fears that if a globalist politician came to power, he might scrap key projects with Russia, such as shutting down the TurkStream pipeline or imposing sanctions. However, the West is now divided, and in two years, it may cease to exist as a liberal-globalist project altogether.

Details

 
Ekrem İmamoğlu (Turkish: [ecˈɾæm iˈmamoːɫu]; born 4 June 1970) is a Turkish businessman, real estate developer, and social democratic politician serving as the 32nd Mayor of Istanbul. He was first elected with 4.1 million votes and won with a margin of 13 thousand votes against his AKP opponent in the March 2019 mayoral election as the joint Nation Alliance candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party. He served only from 17 April 2019 until 6 May 2019, when the election was annulled. He was then reelected in a renewed election on 23 June 2019 by an even larger margin of 800,000 votes. He ran for the office again in the 2024 Istanbul mayoral elections in which he won by approximately a 50 percent majority, securing another 5-year term. He had previously been the Mayor of Beylikdüzü, a western district of Istanbul, between 2014 and 2019. İmamoğlu emerged as a dark horse candidate to be the Nation Alliance's joint candidate for Istanbul Mayor, overtaking more prominent contenders such as Muharrem İnce, the CHP's 2018 presidential candidate. On the eve of the elections, İmamoğlu gained a narrow lead in the mayoral race, with initial results showing his lead to be around 23,000 votes. His lead was eventually cut to 13,729 after a series of recounts backed by the government.