Pro-government media blame 'external forces' for AKP’s loss
Unable to accept defeat, journalists who supported Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party see foreign and domestic plots behind Sunday’s elections.
Following the devastating losses the Justice and Development Party (AKP) incurred in Turkey's parliamentary elections on June 7, eyes are on the large segment of the Turkish media, which over these past few years have been co-opted by the AKP to promote its ideological agenda and bolster President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political ambitions.
While there were those in the pro-government media who predicted before the polling that there would be a relative decline in support for the AKP, few expected it to lose the parliament majority that has enabled it to rule the country without any encumbrance over the past 13 years.
Although the AKP got 41% of the vote and once again finished first, it lost its pre-eminence in Turkish politics; it will not only have to be more cooperative in its dealing with other parties in parliament, but it will also have to shelve many of its political projects, a fact that avid supporters of the AKP are having difficulty coming to terms with.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu wasted no time in ordering an investigation into the underlying reasons for the AKP’s failure, and the first soundings within the party reportedly indicate a prevalent belief that it was the image of profligacy, waste and corruption that alienated large portions of the electorate.
