The cult of Erdogan
Turkey’s ruling party and its supporters have come to attribute quasi-divine qualities to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, creating a personality cult that reinforces concerns over social peace in Turkey.
Anyone who happens to travel to Istanbul these days will come across the same image anywhere they go, anywhere they look: a determined and solemn Recep Tayyip Erdogan, gazing at the horizon in a confident posture with a vague but haughty smile on his face.
Fifty-five million Turkish voters are being bombarded with Erdogan’s image in an aggressive electoral campaign ahead of the Aug. 10 presidential polls, in which the prime minister is the strongest and most advantageous candidate.
The omnipresence of Erdogan’s image cannot be passed over with the explanation that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has mobilized all its financial and organizational might for the elections, along with all the public facilities and resources it has at its disposal. It is also the story of how a cult has been created around Erdogan as he presses ahead in his journey to higher echelons of power.
The building of the “Erdogan cult,” under way for a long time, has now reached an advanced stage for the presidential campaign.
