Half stand against Erdoğan

Submitted by SJW on 4 July, 2018 - 11:58 Author: Marksist Tutum

The elections on June 24 have unsurprisingly resulted in Erdoğan being elected as president of the new political setup which was narrowly voted for in a constitutional referendum about a year ago…

All state resources were employed, 90% of the media have been turned into government bulletins, the image of Erdoğan appeared like Big Brother on every media outlet, while opposition candidates were largely kept away from public view in almost every field.

The Erdoğan regime, composed of the state, party, religious orders and the media merged into an organic whole, had a free hand in resorting to all kinds of lies, manipulation, and illegitimate means… such as that the foreign powers are jealous of Turkey’s growth, that the “headscarf will be banned again”, and that “we will be denied of the right to practice our religion” etc.

Such lies and falsifications made an impact on the masses that vote the AKP in that they overrode the sense of looming economic collapse, the cost of which will be paid by the working masses; increasing living costs; and the anti-democratic character of the one-man regime.

However the regime has failed in achieving an overwhelming vote. Half of society stand against this regime, which is crucial.

Erdoğan made his move by declaring snap elections in the hope of catching the opposition unprepared, lacking leadership, disorganised, that is, in a weak and low-morale state.

With the start of the election campaigns the masses began to see the election as a means through which they can express their discontent.

The period of election campaigns created a political revival in the country in which political argument and criticism of government acquired legitimacy.

Although Erdoğan won, thanks to the state-party-order-media apparatuses, he could not mobilise the masses as before. Throughout the campaign period the rallies held by AKP and Erdoğan were generally weaker and lacking in enthusiasm.

AKP and Erdoğan could not even enjoy the level of excitement enjoyed by [HDP candidate] Selahattin Demirtaş who had no choice but to carry on his campaign from prison, sending AKP and Erdoğan into a rage.

Turkish capitalism is faced with serious troubles. It is having a hard time due also to its imperialistic policies in the Middle East.

On the other hand, as its level of capital accumulation is not high compared to imperialist countries, the Turkish economy is highly prone to capitalist crisis. There are many signs of a coming economic collapse. It is the task of class revolutionaries to make use of every opportunity to push forward the struggle of the working class.

Class revolutionaries will press ahead with their efforts to explain the truth to those interested workers and youth and win them over to the ranks of organised struggle against capitalism.

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