It has been a heated election campaign in Turkey. Not a day passes without one of the Turkish leaders’ words making the headlines. On May 29 Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s lavish lifestyle by saying, “The government forgot the poor. Of course Erdogan would not understand it. Now they are using golden toilet seats.” Erdogan did not take this lightly. In a TV show on May 31, he replied, “I ask Kilicdaroglu to tour the residence, and see whether or not he can find a golden toilet seat. I challenge him to find one.” The following day, at a rally in the eastern city of Erzurum, Erdogan raised the bar and said, “They are going to have me ask you, Kilicdaroglu, did you tour or clean the toilets at the presidential palace — how else would you know the toilet seats are made of gold?” The opposition was perplexed by Erdogan’s reply. On June 1, Kilicdaroglu said in a TV interview, “I kiss the hands of the janitors who earn a living cleaning toilets. I respect all workers. This should be a sufficient answer for the president.”
In this campaign season, Erdogan and his team have gotten increasingly aggressive. While the opinion polls are indicating a diminishing vote share for the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the ruling party has offended multiple segments of society. Here are some of the most striking examples:
