Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the principal resistance competitor in Turkey’s official political race, is firmly quiet and easygoing in his bid to end the two-decade rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Some observers have referred to the videos he has posted on Twitter as his “kitchen diaries” as evidence that a significant portion of his campaign messaging has been delivered from his characteristically Turkish middle-class home.
Situated, frequently with tea in an “ince belli”, a Turkish teacup, he spreads out his key mission guarantees, declares individuals from his expected alliance, and once in a while talks truly to individuals, basically inviting general society into his home.
The elitist image he and his party once had is starkly contrasted by these acts. The presidential candidate’s image has changed over time, according to analysts, in order to appeal to voters of today. His messages presently focus on Turkey’s working class and the discouraged, the very supporters that Erdogan has consistently advocated.
However, Erdogan’s critics now believe that he is to blame for the country’s economic turmoil. This is largely due to his inability to control inflation, which polls show will be a top issue for voters on Sunday. Expansion in the nation was at 43% in April, down from its pinnacle of 85% last October.
That provides ammunition for campaigns against Erdogan’s opponents.
Promising to fix Turkey’s floundering economy has been a foundation of Kilicdaroglu’s mission. In a video posted on Twitter on Friday, he remained in the kitchen and held up staples like bread, eggs, and yogurt, reminding watchers how much their cost had taken off in a year. He states: “In a separate four-second clip” Erdogan is the only reason why you are poorer today than you were yesterday.
Gulfem Saydan Sanver, a political correspondence master who works with a few lawmakers in Kilicdaroglu’s middle left Conservative Individuals’ Party (CHP), said the kitchen has turned into a “image” of the competitor, “that he is living in a modest (life), and he is managing day to day existence issues of the common Turkish residents.”
She stated, “(He) wanted to demonstrate that Erdogan is the one who has forgotten about the problems of the families with lower incomes.”
His utilization of Twitter to arrive at the electorate might not have been out of decision, be that as it may. The fact that the majority of mainstream media outlets in the country are run by people who support the government has led the opposition to heavily rely on messaging distributed through social media.
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Some of those who have known him say that when he took control of the party, the career bureaucrat turned politician was seen as elitist and disconnected from the working class, much like the CHP itself was. The Erdogan government took advantage of that.
“The public authority utilized a lot of individuals versus-tip top differentiation… to ruin the resistance by showing them as a component of a power first class of some sort,” said Murat Somer, a political theory teacher at Koc College in Istanbul. He stated to CNN that this resulted in a “very hard, ossified, negative image” that “the opposition could not get rid of.”
The home recordings would have been difficult to envision in the beginning of his political profession since his regular tendency is to hush up about his confidential life, said Mehmet Karli, CHP part and long-lasting counsel to Kilicdaroglu.
According to what he told CNN, “he has come to understand over the course of (his) political life that private and public are very much intertwined, especially if one is leading a movement.”
However, there may be drawbacks to his home’s reserved demeanor. According to Sanver, the videos from the kitchen could appear to be too soft for some of Turkey’s more difficult foreign policy issues, such as its ties to the United States and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Erdogan has demonstrated effective leadership in one of the world’s most difficult issues by leveraging personal relationships. Close by the Unified Countries, he figured out how to handle an arrangement on grain sends out among Ukraine and Russia, forestalling a worldwide food emergency.
Sanver, who has met with Kilicdaroglu throughout his campaign, told CNN, “It’s one of the critiques I had.” Because Erdogan is also very strong, he needs to appear strong.
She stated that the fact that some addresses were delivered from his office may have helped establish a more serious persona and demonstrated that he is still a different leader than Erdogan.
Kilicdaroglu has acted swiftly to deprive his opponents of ammunition in a nation where ethnic and religious identity frequently plays a role in public discourse and is exploited by some politicians.
He declared to the electorate in a video from his office last month that he belonged to the Alevi sect. The Alevi are a minority faith group from the east of Turkey who have long complained of being persecuted in the majority Sunni Muslim nation. The video was watched 36 million times.
“Identities will no longer be discussed; We will discuss accomplishments, he stated. We will no longer discuss differences and divisions; We will discuss our shared goals and similarities. Will you join this mission for this change?”
