[ad_1]
The 2023 Turkish presidential election next month will be eagerly followed in Western capitals – and in Moscow. Russia favours the incumbent, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while the West tacitly prefers his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, according to analysts. But an opposition win would not guarantee an obstacle-free path to pivoting Turkey back towards the West.
Erdogan has attracted much international attention over recent years with his assertive foreign policy – most recently his blocking of Sweden’s NATO accession, after accusing Stockholm of giving safe haven to people allegedly linked to Kurdish militant group, the PKK.
This confrontational approach to projecting power marked a big change from Erdogan’s pro-Western stance shortly after he took power in 2003.
On the 2023 campaign trail, foreign policy has taken a back seat to more pressing issues. Since 2018, an inflation and currency crisis has sent living standards plunging for Turkish nationals and residents. The divide between Erdogan’s Islamism and Kilicdaroglu’s secularism is another major dynamic in the electoral battle.
“As in most democratic countries, foreign policy is less relevant compared to other themes, particularly economic and identity issues,” said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat, now an Istanbul-based visiting fellow at Carnegie Europe.
Russia ‘clearly’ supporting Erdogan
But while foreign policy might be a peripheral issue to the average Turkish voter, the elections are a big deal for various foreign powers.
“They’ll be watching it very carefully,” said Howard Eissenstat, a Turkey specialist at St Lawrence University and the Middle East Institute in Washington DC.
>> Read more : Will Turkey’s inflation crisis damage Erdogan’s re-election chances?
While underlining that the Turkish president is unlikely to upend his foreign policy if re-elected – “Erdogan will…
[ad_2]
Source : france24
