According to RIA Novosti, on April 27 local time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call, and the two discussed topics such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the relationship between the two countries.
On April 25, two days before the call, the 69-year-old Erdogan interrupted the interview when he suddenly became unwell during a live campaign event, drawing attention to his health issues.
On April 26, Erdogan stated on his Twitter account that he canceled the election rally originally scheduled for that day due to health reasons, “Today, I will follow the doctor’s advice and rest at home.” This seemed to confirm the rumors about his illness.
However, on April 27, Turkish Health Minister Koca said that Erdogan was in good health and would soon resume work as planned. Earlier, the Turkish Presidency’s Anti-Disinformation Center also denied reports that Erdogan had a heart attack.
Whether Erdogan is ill is confusing for a while. The Turkish general election is imminent. Regardless of whether Erdogan is sick or not, his health problems are “not the occasion”. But as far as the general election is concerned, Erdogan’s bigger trouble is not his health problems.
▲President of TürkiyeErdogan data map.Photo/Xinhua News Agency
Ruling party: The president is in good health
On April 25th local time, Erdogan attended an important pre-election live TV broadcast. All on-site hosts, reporters and guests were carefully selected. The purpose was naturally to ensure that this important live TV broadcast would not cause extra problems. However, Erdogan’s health is still “overwhelming”.
First of all, the live broadcast started 90 minutes later than the preview time; secondly, after 10 minutes of the program, the host just started an innocuous question, Erdogan suddenly showed a painful and irritable expression, and then even stood up by himself, live broadcast The screen went black immediately, and the live broadcast was forced to be interrupted, and then the cancellation was officially announced.
According to the original itinerary, Erdogan was supposed to attend the opening ceremony of Turkey’s new high-speed rail in Anatolia on April 26, but Vice President Oktay was temporarily changed to attend; on April 27, not only was an important event canceled During the interview, Erdogan was supposed to attend the grid connection ceremony of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant with a high profile, but he also participated in the form of remote video.
Unlike Erdogan himself who admitted that he was “tired and sick and bedridden as prescribed by the doctor” due to “too busy schedule”, Turkish Vice President Oktay, Media Director of the Presidential Palace Altun, Justice and Development Party spokesman Celik, etc. , respectively, emphasized the president’s “general health” and refuted some “baseless claims”, saying that “no amount of false news can deny that the Turkish people are standing with their leaders.”
On April 27, Turkish Minister of Health Koca and Minister of Family and Social Services Yanik also appeared on Turkish national television, asserting that Erdogan’s health is “improving” and saying “there is nothing to worry about”; “Health is very good” also includes Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu who is on business in Antalya Province.
The reason why Erdogan, the Turkish government and the ruling Justice and Development Party of Turkey are so tense is that Erdogan’s health problems came at an untimely time.
▲Turkish PresidentErdogan data map.Photo/Xinhua News Agency
Opposition Party: I wish you a speedy recovery
On May 14, Türkiye will hold a presidential election. Erdogan, who has served as president and prime minister for 21 years, is eager to start another 10-year term, so he is bound to win the general election.
Since Turkey has about 1.5 million voters living abroad, and overseas voting must end by May 9, these voters have already started voting, so for various candidates and political parties, the general election has actually begun.
Although Erdogan has never lost an election at any level since his meteoric rise from politics in 1999, this year’s situation has been extraordinarily dire: double-digit inflation, a crisis in the currency devaluation, and the devastating February 6 earthquake that hit Turkey. The painful losses caused will undoubtedly affect Erdogan’s election.
At the same time, the six major opposition parties in Turkey announced a few days ago that they would jointly elect the old liberal party, the Republican People’s Party.（CHP）The party leader, Kemal Kilidaroglu, known as “Turkish Gandhi”, is the joint candidate. According to related polls, Kilidaroglu’s poll support rate has climbed to 52.6%, overwhelming Erdogan’s 45%.
In particular, as early as the end of March, the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, the largest legal Kurdish political party in Turkey,（HDP）He announced that he would not nominate a separate presidential candidate. Once they fall to the side of the CHP and other six-party alliances, Erdogan’s election will be even more difficult.
Because of this, Erdogan, who announced early that “no campaign travel will be arranged this year, because there is no need for it”, suddenly announced an intensive campaign tour around the country before the polling day. Trying to turn the tide.
Although he is a veteran in politics, Erdogan is not very old. He is only 69 years old this year, 5 years younger than his main opponent Kilidaroglu. But this “sick leave” has aroused concerns about his health. It is against this background that the collective “presidential health chorus” of the Turkish government and ruling party came into being.
However, at present, Erdogan’s health problem is not the main problem, and the opposition party seems to have a well-thought-out plan, and even disdains to make a fuss about it. Several major opposition candidates, including Kilidaroglu, have publicly stated, “I wish the president an early recovery.”
After all, Erdoğan has experienced many battles and made many changes. Now that the vote is coming soon, and the opposition party is ahead in the polls, it may not be more beneficial to move more than not to move. And who will win the general election is still unknown until the last moment.
Written by Tao Duanfang (columnist)
Editor / He Rui
Proofreading / Wang Xin
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