When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan first led his Justice and Development party (AKP) to victory, he used a campaign of fear and hope: promising an economic renaissance and to save Turkey from rival politicians bringing “poverty, famine and hunger”.
Two decades later, the president, who has towered over his nation like no other leader since the republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, is deploying the same strategy. But this time the “tall man” of Turkish politics is fighting for his political life as he presides over a deep cost of living crisis that many say is of his own making.
True to his populist and divisive style, his campaign strategy ahead of Sunday’s presidential and parliamentary election has been to launch tirades against his opponent, link the fate of the nation to his own, and dole out numerous state giveaways, including raising public sector wages just days ahead of the vote.