According to the results of a recent opinion poll conducted by the Ankara-based MetroPoll, 49.7 percent of voters said they “feel closest to” the county’s opposition bloc or “preferred” it over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s alliance, local media reported on Saturday.
Erdogan and his AKP-MHP alliance enjoyed a brief rebound in political polls in the first half of January, as a result of Central Bank stabilizing the exchange rate and historic wage, salary and pension hikes.
The results of the survey, titled “Turkey’s Pulse – January 2021” and conducted Jan. 8-12 on 1,508 people in 28 provinces, were shared Saturday by Özer Sencar, the owner of MetroPoll, on social media.
MetroPoll determined the percentages of the nationwide support for the two alliances in Turkey based on the question “Which alliance do you feel closest to?” Some of the survey’s participants answered they didn’t feel close to either of the alliances; however, they “preferred” one over the other.
The results showed that 43.7 percent of participants said they felt closest to the opposition’s Nation Alliance, composed of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the nationalist İYİ (Good) Party.
Forty percent of participants said they felt closest to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Public Alliance, comprising his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Grand Unity Party (BBP), according to the poll.
MetroPoll said nationwide support rose to 49.7 percent for the Nation Alliance while it increased to 42.1 percent for the Public Alliance when respondents who “prefer” one group over the other are added to the percentages.
Sencar noted in a tweet that the figures didn’t reflect the pressure that recently increased electricity and natural gas prices has imposed on people, adding that they would be “clearly seen” in the February polls.
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Turks started 2022 with news of jacked-up prices, fueled by a currency crisis amid the highest rate of inflation in nearly two decades.
Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) announced on Jan. 1 that it had raised electricity prices by 52 percent for lower-demand households for the new year and 127 percent for high-demand commercial users, while the Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) raised natural gas prices by 25 percent for households and 50 percent for industrial users.
In the last general election, held in June 2018, the AKP garnered a nationwide vote of 42.6 percent. However, public surveys have increasingly been showing the party’s public support to be slipping.
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Price hikes are almost certain to continue, because of Ukraine crisis jacking up fossil fuel and agricultural commodity prices.
The problems of AKP-MHP go beyond drooping poll support. Six opposition parties gathered their leaders on Saturday, a first in Turkish history, to pledge that a plan to transition back to parliamentary system will be announced on 28 February.
The opposition is making mileage from Erdogan’s indifference to economic distress. Before flying to UAE, Turkey’s president claimed utility prices were lower in Turkey vis-à-vis Europe, accusing protestors of agitation. AKP spokesperson Mr Mahir Unal blamed high prices on the global background. According to government sources, TL160 bn were spent from the central budget to subsidize utility prices, a feat difficult to repeat in 2022, as slower growth undermines the revenue base.
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