Hit by a severe economic crisis and plunging poll ratings, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is gearing up to usurp complete control of the country. Reportedly, ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next year, Erdogan is looking to indict and criminalize the entire opposition which, in turn, will pave way for the ‘one party dictatorship’.
According to an Al-Monitor report, Erdogan has called the opposition “the biggest problem of the country,” and is seeking to portray the main opposition leader and his aides as linked to terrorist groups and averse to Islam.
Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition and its highly popular leader and mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu remains on the hit list of the madmen president.
Paint entire opposition as terrorist sympathizers
Imamoglu has been steadily climbing the poll rating charts owning to his squeaky-clean image and thorough work ethic. Fearing that he could be an impediment to Erdogan’s future, the Interior Ministry, last month, brought up terrorism-related allegations against him.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has levelled allegations that more than 500 employees of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) are affiliated with terrorist groups. However, when Imamoglu asked for the list of the names, the Ministry observed a stoic silence.
Erdogan understands that taking a full-fledged judicial route to oust Imamoglu can backfire as the public opinion is currently in his favour. Hence, the Turkish President is looking to change the perception gradually by levelling outrageous allegations, hoping something sticks and the public begins to doubt him.
Usurp total dictatorial control of Turkey – Erdogan’s endgame
The endgame, even if this strategy does not work, is to control Turkey dictatorially and throw the concept of democracy into the bin.
A political commentator was quoted as saying by the publication, “Regardless of who the CHP’s [presidential] candidate will be, the AKP-MHP alliance [Erdogan’s alliance parties] will seek to associate that person with terrorism and weave an election strategy based on narratives of national survival and the security of the state,”
Erdogan has been dreaming of becoming the new Khalifa and reviving the Ottoman Empire, and this has been at loggerheads with Saudi Arabia and has been trying to replace Saudis and lead the Ummah.
However, the pandemic, the innumerable conflicts, and a spiralling economy has ensured that Erdogan would not even be a Khalifa of a small province of Turkey — forget the entire Muslim world.
How the Turkish economy is bleeding because of Erdogan’s Islam:
The Turkish economy – which was not very long ago among the best performing in Europe, is today in the doldrums. The sole reason why Turkey is gripped by unsparing inflation and its currency – the Lira is on its deathbed, is because Erdogan has cut down interest rates to unsustainably low levels. The low-interest rates have made loans cheaper in Turkey – and practically anybody can avail of them.
Read More: ‘This is Islamic law,’ Erdogan refuses to save Turkey’s crippled economy
This has caused a currency overflow in the Turkish economy, or what is known as ‘inflation’. Essentially, the Lira has lost half its value. It has become cheap. Prices have shot up, and people do not have enough cash to sustain their day-to-day needs. The people of Turkey are becoming statically poorer. In 2013, the per capita GDP in Turkey stood at $12,582, and today it stands at a mere $8,538.
Owning to Erdogan’s madness, Turkey, last year was included in the illustrious FATF Greylist, alongside its fanciful aide Pakistan. The madmen harbouring dreams of becoming Khalifa is now going all out to fulfil his dreams, even if it means destroying the democratic fabric of Turkey.