2023-04-16 16:48:35
In Turkey, which faces rising food prices, free meals during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan are helping some. Analysts say that inflation is now the biggest threat to Turkish President Erdogan’s re-election.
In Kadıköy, a middle-class neighborhood in Istanbul, people stand in long lines for iftar after fasting all day. Many wait in line for over an hour for a sandwich or soup. According to the man, who said his name is Ahmed, this is a sign of the difficult times facing the Turkish people.
“Why do you think these people are waiting here for a piece of bread?” Unfortunately, everything is very expensive. Rent, economy. People are exhausted,” he says.
The opposition-controlled Istanbul municipality provides free meals to people. Opposition-run cities across the country are doing the same.
Parliamentary and presidential elections will be held in Turkey in May. Members of the opposition draw attention to the level of inflation in the country, which is currently higher than 55 percent.
They blame President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his unusual policy of cutting interest rates instead of raising them to keep inflation under control.
“It’s terrible. In opinion polls, 80 percent of participants complain about economic conditions. 80 percent think things have gotten worse in the past 12 months. On average, 60 percent think the situation will worsen in the next 12 months,” says Atilla Yeşilada, Turkey analyst at GlobalSource Partners.
Local farmers try to sell their products in the city market. Many complain of a lack of customers and struggle to make ends meet.
“Compared to last year, the prices, mainly the price of animal feed, have increased by 100 percent, maybe more. The price of feed has doubled and we are having difficulty growing and selling eggs. The same applies to milk production. It is extremely expensive,” says farmer Meral.
“The price of gasoline has increased by 100 percent. We had leased our field and the rents had skyrocketed. The hourly wage of workers was 150 Turkish lira, now it has risen to 400 lira,” says farmer Yusuf Kahveci.
One of Erdogan’s greatest achievements was years of unprecedented economic growth and the creation of a strong religious middle class. Analysts say members of that class fear losing their gains if Erdogan loses power to pro-secular parties.
But rising inflation could change this political equation.
“The economic crisis affects all classes, all identities, so the polarization effect is reduced, because both conservatives and secularists and everyone else are equally affected by inflation, the economic crisis,” says Panoramatr researcher Osman Sart.
Erdogan is now trying to change the agenda. Erdogan, who commissioned Turkey’s first aircraft carrier on Monday, stressed that he was turning his country into a regional power to reassure the nationalist religious electorate.
It will be clear whether the electorate remains loyal to him or not in the next month’s election.
Voice of America
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