Whose Turkey Is It?
It is still a marvel to behold Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s self-confidence, even after 11 years of his rule. In recent weeks, a new poster featuring Turkey’s
prime minister has appeared throughout Istanbul, on highway billboards
and mass transit. Wearing his usual dark suit, Erdogan looks to be in
purposeful motion, like an action hero. Two large words in block
letters, SAGLAM IRADE, Turkish for “Iron Will,” accompany him. Surely
some of his supporters appreciate this evocation of 1930s-era
masculinity, but for others, it must feel like an invasion of personal
space. The enormous billboards intensify the claustrophobia that many
Turks have felt for years: that Erdogan is everywhere, in every tree or
open space sacrificed for a building, in every traffic jam, in every
newspaper column and pro-government tweet and call to prayer. The
poster, which a group of his supporters claims to have put up, begs to
be defaced, and Turks have torn at it or covered it with new slogans:
“Iron Fascist,” “Iron Corruption,” “Iron Enemy of the People.”
Whose Turkey is it ?
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