– It is sad and not worthy of the century we live in. This is what the Turkish student Begüm Bölükbasi (24) thinks. The country has not been seen in the competition since 2012. Unfair system When the government withdrew in 2013, they explained that it was about the voting system in the competition. The minister in charge of public broadcaster TRT said they did not get the results they wanted, no matter how good the contestant they sent was. One of the things they reacted to was that the “big five”: Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain and Italy, are guaranteed a place anyway. It is a rule that was introduced as these five contribute the most money to the competition. Not everyone believes in this explanation anymore. Turkey and Can Bonomo with the song “Love Me Back” in 2012. This was the country’s last entry before withdrawing from the competition. It ended with a seventh place and 112 points. Photo: EBU – The conservatives don’t like it – In the first years we believed what was said, but as time has passed most people have now realized that there are other reasons behind it. That’s what Bölükbasi says, who is also a board member of the Eurovision Turkey website. She believes it is about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s conservative mindset not matching the competition’s values. – Eurovision is an arena where there is respect for all gender identities, which is not to the liking of the conservative forces in the government. Promise Eurovision if they win And now Eurovision has become big politics in Turkey. Opposition politicians Meral Akşener and Kemal Kiliçdaroglu have both promised participation in Eurovision in the election campaign against Erdoğan. Kemal Kiliçdaroglu is the leader of the largest opposition party. He promises Eurovision participation for Turkey. Photo: Burhan Ozbilici / AP The timing for such a promise could not be better either. Election day in Turkey is Sunday 14 May, the day after the Eurovision final in Liverpool. – Think it can influence the younger Turkey expert and peace researcher, Pinar Tank, agrees with the student Bölükbasi about the real reason why they are not participating now. It is about the country’s conservative politics, she believes. – They explained it away with the voting system, but I think it has to do with the fact that the program has become a liberal and gender fluid competition, says Tank, who is Norwegian-Turkish. – And why is this not in line with Erdoğan’s regime? – You must be a strong male figure to lead Turkey and Eurovision challenges this ideal. As Erdogan sees it, this is something they fear could affect the younger generation. Norwegian-Turkish Pinar Tank is a Turkey expert and peace researcher. She believes that popular culture can function as a political tool, especially against young voters. Photo: Jonas Ørbeck Sire / news Nor is it just Eurovision that the Turkish government has been skeptical about. Conservative forces in Turkey believed that young people had to be protected from the music genre K-pop, because it could encourage homosexuality. In addition, the popular Turkish pop artist Gulsen had to sit under house arrest after she joked about religious schools in the country. – Can be a powerful political tool The peace researcher believes that using popular culture as politics can be effective, especially against young voters. – It is clear that there are other things that are more important than Eurovision right now, but one should not ignore the fact that popular culture can be a strong political tool against the young. However, she does not believe that the promise of participation will be decisive, but that it can be used as an example of which offer does not exist in Turkey right now. – Turkey is missed Anders Tangen is a writer for ESC Norway and runs the “Grand Prix podcast”. He says that Turkey is missing in Eurovision. Anders Tangen runs the “Grand Prix podcast” and has written about Eurovision for several years. He says that Turkey has cult status in Eurovision and hopes that they will return. Photo: PRIVAT – Turkey has a kind of cult status in the context of Eurovision. I think many people have a close relationship with the memories of Turkish groups with white suits and belly dancers who have performed in the past, says Tangen. Watch Turkey win in 2003 with the song “Everyway That I Can”: Bölükbasi in Eurovision Turkey wants to see Turkey back in the competition. She is proud of Turkish culture and believes that participation will be important for young Turks. – There are many young people in the country who get involved in the competition. We would like to showcase our artists and our culture, says Bölükbasi.
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In Turkey, the opposition promises Eurovision participation to win the election – news Culture and entertainment
