07:58 – Turkey: Erdogan, the "Reïs" who aims to make history



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In fifteen years of power, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has profoundly transformed Turkey. By starting Monday a new mandate to the strengthened powers, it will be able to impose in history as the equal of the founder of the Republic Mustafa Kemal.

Neither a stay in prison, nor monster demonstrations, nor even a bloody attempt coup d'etat have stopped the irresistible rise of "Reïs" ("chief"), as his most ardent followers call him, who has been leading the country with a firmer grip since 2003.

At the age of 64, Mr. Erdogan is now close to his goal with his victory in the June 24 general election, which gave him a mandate of "hyperpresident", tailor-made under a constitutional revision. pbaded last year.

The election was announced to be tight, but Mr. Erdogan won it in the first round with 52.5% of the vote and maintains his majority in Parliament thanks to the alliance of his party with the ultra-nationalists of the MHP, according to the almost final results of the State Press Anadolu

M. Erdogan has already profoundly transformed Turkey through mega-infrastructure projects and by pursuing a more badertive foreign policy, even to anger the traditional Western allies.

For his supporters, despite the current difficulties, he remains the leader. a man of the "economic miracle" who brought Turkey into the club of the 20 richest countries, and the champion of the conservative majority long scorned by an urban and secular elite.

But his detractors accuse Mr. Erdogan of drifting autocratic, especially since the coup attempt of July 2016 which was followed by mbadive purges. Opponents and journalists have also been arrested, causing concern in Europe.

– Outstanding Tribune –

Often portrayed in the West as an undeniable sultan, this nostalgic of the Ottoman Empire is a formidable political animal who has won every election since his party, the AKP, came to power in 2002.

At his meetings, he displayed unparalleled qualities of tribune, which largely contributed to his political longevity, drawing on in nationalist poems and the Koran to galvanize crowds

Born in a working-clbad district of Istanbul, Erdogan envisioned a career in football – a sport he practiced at a semi-professional level – before going into politics.

He learns the tricks of the Islamist movement of former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, before being propelled into the limelight by being elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994 .

In 1998, he was sentenced to a prison sentence for reciting a religious poem, an episode that only strengthened his aura.

He took revenge when the AKP, which he co-founded, wins the elections in 2002. The following year, he is appointed Prime Minister, a position he will occupy until 2014, when he becomes the first Turkish president elected by direct universal suffrage.

Married and father of four children Erdogan therefore remains the favorite politician of a majority of Turks, the only one able to "stand up" to the West and guide the ship through regional crises, starting with the Syrian conflict. [19659002Hisvirulentdiatribesagainstthe"Islamophobia"thatgangreneEuropeandhisstanceinfavorofthePalestiniansalsoearnhimanimmensepopularityintheMuslimworld

– "The work survives" – [19659002] But since the major anti-government demonstrations in In 2013, brutally repressed, he also became the most criticized political figure in Turkey, his detractors denouncing an authoritarian and Islamist drift.

His power wavers at the end of 2013 when a resounding corruption scandal broke out. his close circle. Erdogan denounces "conspiracy" and the affair is stifled

But it is in the night of 15 to 16 July 2016 that the Turkish president will face his worst test, in the form of a bloody coup attempt

The image of Mr. Erdogan calling that night the people to the rescue through the screen of a smartphone, the livid face, marked the spirits. As much as his triumphal arrival at the main airport of Istanbul in the early morning, signaling the defeat of the putschists.

The Turkish president accuses a former ally, the preacher Fethullah Gülen, of being behind the coup, which denies the 'interested. Mbadive purges are launched

Adored by his supporters, hated by his detractors, Erdogan seems convinced that he will leave an indelible mark in the history of his country.

"A man dies, but his work survives him", often repeats the president who ordered the construction of a gigantic mosque in Istanbul. As the Sultans did before him

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