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Deadly quake puts Erdogan under pressure in May polls

February 09, 2023 / 9:24 AM
Sharjah24 - AFP: Three months before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan political career's toughest test, Turkey and Syria were shaken by a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people.
On May 14, Turkey will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections that polls conducted before the disaster showed would turn into a tight race for Erdogan, who has led the country since 2003.

And even before disaster struck in the pre-dawn hours of Monday, Erdogan was trying to put out a series of crises at the same time.

His unconventional approach to economics has set off an inflationary spiral that saw consumer prices soar by 85 percent in annual terms last year.

At the same time, his government has been swatting away accusations of cronyism, corruption and bungling the response to environmental disasters, including wildfires in 2021.

Appearing to understand the challenge, Erdogan is fighting back.

Hours after the earthquake, he took centre stage at a press conference in Ankara -- one of many that followed in the next three days.

On Wednesday, he hugged a weeping woman affected by the quake near its epicentre in the province of Kahramanmaras before paying a visit to Hatay, where the death toll is even higher.

He even acknowledged his government's "shortcomings" during the Hatay visit, but insisted it was "not possible to be ready for a disaster like this".
February 09, 2023 / 9:24 AM

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