The owner and director of a survey company in Turkey, also having close ties with the administration of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), surprised many as he posted tweets on Monday saying that the ruling party now had backing only from a core group of supporters.
Mehmet Ali Kulat went on to explain that the diminishing levels of popular support for Erdoğan and his party was due to the severe economic crisis.
He said in his tweets:
“According to public surveys, living expenses are by far the most serious issue of complaint and the very first issue that needs to be resolved. The current economic management is extremely unsuccessful, according to the surveys.”
He continued: “However, the complaints do not entirely translate as a change in voters’ preferences. Economy-oriented voters have already given up to a great extent on AKP. Now only the core supporters of AKP remain, and they make up the around 25 percent of all voters (…) In order for a further change to occur regarding voter’s attitude, it is essential, as much as the criticism over current bad management, that the opposition pursuade the voters that it will be able to manage the situation better.
He concluded: “If knowing that something’s bad could indeed lead to a change, nobody would any longer be smoking, as the note on the package indicates that it’s harmful for health. What this means is, merely knowing that something is bad is just not enough for a change to occur in terms of preferences. The opposition should prove that they are actually the alternative, that they can rapidly solve the issues of the country.”
