– Erdoğan should not be underestimated because he knows the political game to the tips of his fingers. And he has a plan, a long-term plan. Can Dündar has felt the president’s wrath. In 2015, the independent newspaper Cumhuriyet, of which he was editor, revealed that the NATO country Turkey smuggled weapons into the jihadists in Syria. Photo: BULENT KILIC / AFP That’s what the Turkish writer and journalist Can Dündar says, who recently published a book about Erdoğan’s upbringing and political life. Turkey’s strongman has ruled the country for over 20 years, both as prime minister and president. He has been in power longer than Turkey’s father Atatürk and longer than any living European leader. – Erdoğan is very active in international politics, this despite the fact that he knows no other language than Turkish and without knowing the world particularly well, Dündar tells news. Impressed critic Can Dündar has felt the president’s wrath. In 2015, the independent newspaper Cumhuriyet, of which he was editor, revealed that the NATO country Turkey smuggled weapons into the jihadists in Syria. Erdoğan was furious. Dündar was sentenced to 27 years in prison and an Erdoğan supporter tried to shoot him in an open street in Istanbul. Now the journalist lives in exile in Berlin. Dündar is one of Erdoğan’s sharpest critics, but admits that he too is impressed by the president’s ability to and get what he wants: – It is incredible even for me to see the strategy and ability he has to adapt to any situation. – How would you describe him? – He is a political animal with a good sense of smell and good instincts. He knows how to play in international politics. He is pragmatic. And because he has no principles, he is flexible. Trump, Putin and Bashar al-Assad, they were all enemies one day and best friends the next. He can turn 180 degrees to achieve what he wants. And Turkey’s strongman knows how to exploit situations to his own advantage. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg often visits Turkey. If he is to find solutions to NATO’s problems, he must have taken the Turkish president seriously. Here are the two of them on the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul with spouses Ingrid Schulerud and Emine Erdogan last November. Photo: AP Gift packages Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been lucky with what has appeared on his watch. When the refugee crisis came in 2015–2016, it created a crisis atmosphere in the EU. Then Europe needed Erdoğan to close the borders. The EU paid and is paying billions of euros for Erdoğan to keep the refugees in Turkey. When Russia attacked Ukraine, Erdoğan was quick to position himself as a mediator. Turkey’s leader is the only one in NATO who has an open door to both President Putin and Zelensky. And now Nato needs Erdoğan to bring in Finland and Sweden as members. – No one believed that Erdoğan was really capable of stopping Sweden and Finland’s way into NATO. But look now, says Dundar. – What will it take for Erdoğan to open the door for Sweden’s NATO application? – I assume that he expects the other leaders to recognize his power, also that he uses this case to gain influence for other cases. A phone call from President Biden would probably solve that. “Democracy is like a tram” For more than twenty years, Erdoğan has steered Turkey in a more conservative and religious direction. When he came to power in 2003, the West thought they were dealing with a new type of moderate Muslim democrat. But Erdogan is known to have said: “Democracy is like a tram. You stay on until you reach your goal, and then you get off.” – What is his long-term plan? – He wants to rebuild the Ottoman Empire. He will become Sultan and a leader of the entire Islamic world. He wants influence in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and in other Muslim societies. It is in that capacity that he wants to meet leaders in the Christian world. He will challenge them or agree with them. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan prays with the family who lost a relative in a mining accident in Turkey in October 2022. He wants to be a leader of Muslims not only in Turkey but also in the world. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP – It’s a very ambitious plan? – Well, it has worked well so far, says Dündar and explains: – You see this in everything he does. All the mosques he builds, who he surrounds himself with, all the wealth he and his family have acquired. Under his rule, the state TV channels broadcast historical and nationalistic TV series in one set about when the Turks ruled large parts of the Middle East and Europe. The many and long series should make the Turks proud and yearn for the glory days. President Erdoğan loves the heyday of the mighty Ottoman Empire. Here he and first lady Emine are surrounded by men dressed as elite Ottoman soldiers. They celebrate the day when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople from the Eastern Roman Empire. Photo: MURAD SEZER / Reuters And Erdoğan has a high star among millions of Muslims worldwide, because he stands up for Muslims when Korans are burned and mosques are attacked in the West. Exit Erdogan? But things are not going well for Erdoğan at home. The economy is in crisis and inflation is sky high. According to opinion polls, the president is unlikely to win the presidential election on 14 May. But is it possible to imagine that he will resign voluntarily and put the plan aside? Millions of Turks desperate for political change are nervous ahead of the election and fear that Erdoğan will simply cheat his way into another term. Can Dündar is one of Erdoğan’s sharpest critics, but admits that he too is impressed by the president’s ability to and get what he wants. Photo: Sidsel Wold / news Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will soon turn 69. His health is a perennial topic among Turks. – He is not healthy and he forgets things. Occasionally he disappears from public view for a couple of days. And he has a hard time walking, we can see that. But most other things that are said about his health are just rumours, says the Turkish journalist. But Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in good political shape anyway and sees which issues he can twist and turn to his own advantage both at home and abroad. Like Sweden’s NATO application.
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Erdoğan’s sharpest critic warns against underestimating the Turkish president – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
