If everything can become true, nothing is and in this limbo of truth “authoritarianism lurks”. Ece Temelkuran is one of the most brilliant Turkish writers, for years a political commentator with a great following, she has written for magazines such as Nationality e Haberturk, without ever sparing criticism of President Erdogan’s policies – from the Kurdish question to the repression of the Gezi Park protests – before leaving the country, in 2016, after the attempted coup d’état to escape the repression that followed, like other intellectuals of the his generation. It was three of the first to warn Europe of Turkey’s authoritarian involution, which on May 14 will face a decisive political test: for the first time Erdogan is head to head in the polls with his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. On 12 May she will be the one to inaugurate the Feltrinelli Foundation festival “Che Storia”.
Temelkuran, in Turkey these are days of demonstrations and rallies, two political factions confront each other freely: a normal democratic dialectic, one would say, certainly not a dictatorship.
“In Europe, many think that regimes are born with the “bad guys” who come to power by beating up their opponents and changing reality overnight. Things are different today. Authoritarian powers feed on confusion, on the ability to dilute the truth by replacing it with falsehood. In this, my country is a lesson for Europe”.
Which?
“We are not ready to decipher the new authoritarianisms. The truth in itself is very powerful, but when it encounters confusion, hesitation and even a certain complacency of citizens, it becomes blurred and it is time to be replaced by lies. I authoritarian powers create confusion using social media, deep fakes and other high tech tools and it is so easy and pervasive that it leaves the truth alone, ridiculing those who defend it”.
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Power has always sought to control public discourse, it is an ancient dynamic when politics.
“But if you control 95% of the mainstream media a blatant lie can be turned into truth overnight. Recently Turkish Interior Minister said that LGBTQ people marry animals and LGBTQ people found themselves in having to prove that they are not really marrying animals.In a recent demonstration in Istanbul, oceanic, Erdogan showed an edited video in which members of the PKK (the Kurdish workers’ party considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU, ndr) applauded Kilicdaroglu. Of course that wasn’t true.”
Erdogan also accused Kilicdaroglu of being a “drunkard” and the opposition of “being pro-LGBTQ” as an offense. Why does he do it?
“We could give different political and psychological answers, but basically he does it because he can do it, nobody stops him. There are no checks and balances. Two days ago an opposition rally in which Mayor Imamoglu was to speak, in Erzurum, was attacked with stones, there were injured, and immediately afterwards, supporters of President Erdogan, including ministers and spin doctors, took to social media stating that it was an act against their party, the AKP. Your eyes are so dull, you begin to doubt it. Once again, confusion is the key.”
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In Türkiye, everyone calls these elections historic. What’s at stake?
“The choice between authoritarianism and democracy, of course, but deep down it is a clash between love and fear. Erdogan maintains power using the politics of fear. On the other hand, there is a very heterogeneous coalition, made up of different political forces which however they have decided to “love” and tolerate each other to get rid of fear”.
Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the opposition, comes from many electoral defeats. Does he have a chance this time?
“He surprised many by constructing two narratives, one very serious, criticizing the government and the other more playful mocking the autocrat. In one of his recent Twitter videos he says a few sentences in seconds: ‘Whatever happens to you, it’s Erdogan’s fault. Goodnight’. And he smiles”.
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A clearly ironic exit that does not generate tension.
“The opposition is using what I call a ‘radical love’ strategy, first used during the 2019 local elections that allowed Imamoglu and other opposition mayors to win in big cities like Istanbul and Ankara: criticizes the opposing leader but welcomes his supporters. It does not promise revenge in case of victory but only justice. I think it is the policy of the century, a lesson for anyone in the world who finds himself fighting against authoritarianism”.
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Love in power.
“Fundamental, together with irony. Turkey is a deeply divided country and the only wise thing is to show people that there is life beyond polarization. Anger only fuels fascism”.
She is part of a generation of writers who have had no qualms about criticizing power. What role are women playing in this electoral campaign?
“Young people will be decisive and young women even more: they know that if they don’t fight many rights they have taken for granted will be cancelled, these elections are a fight for survival for them”.
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She had to leave her country but contests the definition of a writer in exile. Why?
“For various reasons: it is a label that remains even if one day I have to return to my country, a cage; because it is a kind of title of nobility, separate from the invisible world of refugees. And because exile no longer makes much sense: this is the century of nomads, even trees and plants are moving because of climate change, growing where they didn’t grow before. When thousands of people are homeless, my condition no longer matters.”