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ANATOLIA (MOSTLY) LOVES ERDOGAN
The Economist
March 6 2014
A bastion of loyalty to Recep Tayyip Erdogan is tested by recent
scandals
Mar 8th 2014 | KAYSERI | From the print edition
"WE GAVE you new hospitals, we gave you proper schools," roars the
mayor of Kayseri, Mehmet Ozhaseki. Veiled housewives chant back,
"Kayseri is proud of you," as the mayor boasts of the achievements of
the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party at an election rally in
the city's Eskisehir district. Eskisehir was a slum full of squatters
and open sewers until Mr Ozhaseki, a local businessman, was elected
mayor in 1999. Now its pristine streets are lined with two-storey
houses built on land given by AK. Mr Ozhaseki is also restoring an
ancient Armenian church. "Kayseri is very nationalist, I am getting
criticised for this," he confides.
Sitting next to one of Turkey's highest mountains, Mount Erciyes,
Kayseri was once home to thousands of Greeks and Armenians until
they were driven out or slaughtered a century ago. Their once grand
mansions stand derelict, the basements dotted with gaping holes where
looters tunnelled to look for gold. But today Kayseri symbolises the
"new Islam" ushered in by AK when it came to power in 2002. This
mix of piety and entrepreneurship has produced a class of so called
"Islamic Calvinists" who have popularised such things as Turkish jeans
and furniture across the world. Abdullah Gul, Turkey's president and
a co-founder of AK, is Kayseri's most famous son.
Mr Ozhaseki, who was elected with 60% of the vote in 2009, ought to
be a shoo-in for a fourth consecutive term as mayor. But a seemingly
unending stream of sleaze allegations against AK, and specifically
against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, may yet dent its
vote in the municipal elections on March 30th. Mr Ozhaseki parrots
the government line that the corruption probe is a foreign-inspired
plot carried out by Fethullah Gulen, a hard-nosed Muslim preacher
and former ally of Mr Erdogan's, who lives in self-imposed exile in
rural Pennsylvania and whose disciples have flooded the ranks of the
police force and the judiciary under AK's watch.
That does not persuade Memduh Boydak, whose family-run conglomerate,
Boydak Holding, is one of the 20 biggest Turkish companies, employing
around 16,000 people. Like many "Anatolian tigers" who have thrived
under AK rule, Boydak has been hurt by Turkey's sharp economic
slowdown, a sudden fall in the lira and a big rise in interest rates.
These troubles have been exacerbated by the continuing power struggle
between AK and the Gulenists. A clash of views and egos between their
leaders has played a big part. "There is a 10% drop in business and
there is a problem with corruption," admits Mr Boydak, though he adds
that he believes in the country and that the problem will pass.
But few of Mr Erdogan's supporters appear to care so much. "OK, so
they steal, but unlike the others [ie, the opposition] they get things
done," says Gokhan Baydur, a waiter, gesturing towards Mount Erciyes
where the municipality recently completed what Mr Ozhaseki insists
is a world-class ski resort. "We will win comfortably, no problem,"
he predicts of the March election.
He is probably right. Yet many believe that AK's share of the vote
is likely to drop. This is because Kayseri also has a big base of
Gulenist support. The movement runs one university, 16 lycees and 18
crammers in the city. A recent law passed by AK to phase out thousands
of crammers across Turkey (two-thirds of these are thought to be Gulen
franchises) is designed to deprive the Gulenists of cash and recruits.
But that angers thousands of conservative families who praise the
quality of the Gulenists' tutoring and their family values. "They
are outraged by Erdogan's calumnies against our hodja [ie, Mr Gulen]
and will no longer vote for AK," a member of the movement claims.
"These elections are a contest between Erdogan and the [Gulen]
community," noted Rusen Cakir, an analyst. "Both spring from Islamic
traditions and they, therefore, face a difficult task," he added in
an interview with the Haberturk news channel. This might explain why
the astute Mr Ozhaseki has chosen not to join in Mr Erdogan's rants
against the hodja.
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21598726-bastion-loyalty-recep-tayyip-erdogan-tested-recent-scandals-anatolia-mostly-loves
From: A. Papazian
The Economist
March 6 2014
A bastion of loyalty to Recep Tayyip Erdogan is tested by recent
scandals
Mar 8th 2014 | KAYSERI | From the print edition
"WE GAVE you new hospitals, we gave you proper schools," roars the
mayor of Kayseri, Mehmet Ozhaseki. Veiled housewives chant back,
"Kayseri is proud of you," as the mayor boasts of the achievements of
the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party at an election rally in
the city's Eskisehir district. Eskisehir was a slum full of squatters
and open sewers until Mr Ozhaseki, a local businessman, was elected
mayor in 1999. Now its pristine streets are lined with two-storey
houses built on land given by AK. Mr Ozhaseki is also restoring an
ancient Armenian church. "Kayseri is very nationalist, I am getting
criticised for this," he confides.
Sitting next to one of Turkey's highest mountains, Mount Erciyes,
Kayseri was once home to thousands of Greeks and Armenians until
they were driven out or slaughtered a century ago. Their once grand
mansions stand derelict, the basements dotted with gaping holes where
looters tunnelled to look for gold. But today Kayseri symbolises the
"new Islam" ushered in by AK when it came to power in 2002. This
mix of piety and entrepreneurship has produced a class of so called
"Islamic Calvinists" who have popularised such things as Turkish jeans
and furniture across the world. Abdullah Gul, Turkey's president and
a co-founder of AK, is Kayseri's most famous son.
Mr Ozhaseki, who was elected with 60% of the vote in 2009, ought to
be a shoo-in for a fourth consecutive term as mayor. But a seemingly
unending stream of sleaze allegations against AK, and specifically
against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, may yet dent its
vote in the municipal elections on March 30th. Mr Ozhaseki parrots
the government line that the corruption probe is a foreign-inspired
plot carried out by Fethullah Gulen, a hard-nosed Muslim preacher
and former ally of Mr Erdogan's, who lives in self-imposed exile in
rural Pennsylvania and whose disciples have flooded the ranks of the
police force and the judiciary under AK's watch.
That does not persuade Memduh Boydak, whose family-run conglomerate,
Boydak Holding, is one of the 20 biggest Turkish companies, employing
around 16,000 people. Like many "Anatolian tigers" who have thrived
under AK rule, Boydak has been hurt by Turkey's sharp economic
slowdown, a sudden fall in the lira and a big rise in interest rates.
These troubles have been exacerbated by the continuing power struggle
between AK and the Gulenists. A clash of views and egos between their
leaders has played a big part. "There is a 10% drop in business and
there is a problem with corruption," admits Mr Boydak, though he adds
that he believes in the country and that the problem will pass.
But few of Mr Erdogan's supporters appear to care so much. "OK, so
they steal, but unlike the others [ie, the opposition] they get things
done," says Gokhan Baydur, a waiter, gesturing towards Mount Erciyes
where the municipality recently completed what Mr Ozhaseki insists
is a world-class ski resort. "We will win comfortably, no problem,"
he predicts of the March election.
He is probably right. Yet many believe that AK's share of the vote
is likely to drop. This is because Kayseri also has a big base of
Gulenist support. The movement runs one university, 16 lycees and 18
crammers in the city. A recent law passed by AK to phase out thousands
of crammers across Turkey (two-thirds of these are thought to be Gulen
franchises) is designed to deprive the Gulenists of cash and recruits.
But that angers thousands of conservative families who praise the
quality of the Gulenists' tutoring and their family values. "They
are outraged by Erdogan's calumnies against our hodja [ie, Mr Gulen]
and will no longer vote for AK," a member of the movement claims.
"These elections are a contest between Erdogan and the [Gulen]
community," noted Rusen Cakir, an analyst. "Both spring from Islamic
traditions and they, therefore, face a difficult task," he added in
an interview with the Haberturk news channel. This might explain why
the astute Mr Ozhaseki has chosen not to join in Mr Erdogan's rants
against the hodja.
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21598726-bastion-loyalty-recep-tayyip-erdogan-tested-recent-scandals-anatolia-mostly-loves
From: A. Papazian