Almost half of Turks voted against the president. Next, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has to decide how to act in relation to the opposition, journalist Tom Kankkonen from Istanbul estimates.
ISTANBUL President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a decision to be made after winning the election.
He got more than 52 percent of the votes. Almost half of the people voted against him.
The president must decide whether to continue with the line of declaring opponents traitors and terrorists.
Ahead may be intensified persecution of dissidents and the crushing of the last media independent of the government.
There is also another way, a hand out to that Turkey that did not want Erdoğan to continue. The omens are bad, and even at the moment of victory, the president faced the opposition.
In the elections, Erdoğan was supported by two hard-line Islamist groups. For example, these groups want to weaken the position of women.
This thinking also has support in Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.
Steering Turkey in an even more antiquated direction would be disastrous. Especially in southern and western Turkey, there is a large group of people who support a non-religious order where religion is a private matter.
On the other side is the thinking of Erdoğan and his allies, where religion is brought into public life. It can be seen in huge mosques and a fight against “sinful” lifestyles, such as the free intercourse of the sexes.
Another big dividing line in Turkey is related to the Kurds. The main Kurdish party HDP/Green Left supported the opposition’s presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Suspicion may grow
After the election victory, Erdoğan may tear open several dividing lines in Turkey.
Fears of civil war are exaggerated. However, Turkey may become a country where mistrust between population groups continues to grow.
The oppressive atmosphere can increase educated young people’s desire to leave and flee Turkey.
In foreign policy, Erdoğan will continue on the current line, where he balances the West and the Russian president Vladimir Putin between. Putin’s Russia has supported Turkey’s economy and economic relations continue to be close.
Regarding Sweden’s NATO membership, the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July is still an important landmark.
It may be that the other NATO countries, and especially the United States, will put more pressure on Turkey once the elections are over. It is a different matter how Erdoğan, who indulges in anti-Western rhetoric, reacts.