Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is steering his country into a dangerous war path with Greece in a bid to win re-election in the lead up to the June 2023 elections which has seen him crackdown on political rivals like the popular Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul.
Recent months have seen unprecedented rhetoric from Turkey threatening to invade the Greek islands in the Aegean, questioning their sovereignty whilst increasing illegal over-flights into Greek airspace at record numbers. It is part and parcel of a desperate pitch to Erdogan's domestic audience who he is trying to distract from an impoverished economy in a ruthless attempt to cling to power in 2023, the centenary of the Turkish Republic.
"Turkey’s presidential election, set to be held on June 23, is arguably the most important — though by no means the fairest — vote in the world this year. It will determine whether this nation of 85 million citizens, on the hinge of Europe, Asia and the Middle East, will keep hurtling down the road toward being an authoritarian, expansionist power, or whether it chooses a more liberal, pluralistic path." writes Paul Taylor for Politico.
"Meanwhile, the Turkish president is also threatening to strike NATO ally Greece amid manufactured disputes over gas drilling, Cyprus, and the alleged “militarization” of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea — although the international economic and political cost of any such action makes it highly improbable.
"In 20 years, Erdoğan has lurched from a policy of “zero problems with the neighbors” to open or latent conflict with Syria, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Armenia. However, in recent months, he’s begun a rapprochement with several of these adversaries — partly because the failure of the Turkish-supported Arab Spring uprisings has forced him to adjust his foreign policy, but also because he desperately needs Arab and Western capital to shore up the economy, gutted by his reckless policy of maintaining low interest rates."
