French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won Sunday’s run-off election to extend his rule to a third decade.
Erdogan and his supporters continued to celebrate the election win on Monday, while Turkey’s opposition, led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, warned of “difficult days” ahead of an increasingly autocratic government.
Kilicdaroglu won 47.8 percent to Erdogan’s 52.2 percent, saying it was “the most unfair election in years” but did not dispute the result.
World leaders rushed to congratulate the Turkish president, a sign of the country’s importance as a regional military power.
Macron said the two nations had “enormous challenges” to work on together, including “the return of peace to Europe”.
“With President Erdogan, whom I congratulate, we will continue to move forward,” the French leader wrote on Twitter.
Ukraine, Syria, NATO: why the Kremlin needs Erdogan to win
While France’s relations with Turkey have been strained in recent years, Macron needs cooperation with Turkey on issues such as fighting political Islam.
Turkey has also provided drones to Ukraine and positioned itself as a mediator in the conflict with Russia.
In a post on Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected “further strengthening of the strategic partnership for the good of our countries, as well as enhanced cooperation for security and stability in Europe”.
Russian President Putin, who has worked closely with Erdogan on key international issues despite some differences, congratulated his “dear friend” on the victory, saying his win was “the logical result of your dedicated work”.
“Strategic Significance”
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission of the European Union, which Erdogan hopes his country will join, said the bloc wanted to strengthen ties with Turkey and that she looked forward to “continuing to build the relationship between the EU and Turkey” .
As a member of NATO, Turkey under Erdogan has contributed to reshaping its economic, security and foreign policy.
It has ratified Finland’s application to join the military alliance but opposed Sweden’s doing the same.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he looked forward to “continuing our work together and preparing for the NATO summit in July”.
While relations between Turkey and the US have been strained over Erdogan’s stance on Sweden, Ankara’s close relationship with Moscow and differences over Syria, US President Biden said he hopes to work with Erdogan on “shared global challenges”.
Germany, home to the EU’s largest Turkish community, hailed the countries as “close partners and allies” whose “people and economies are deeply intertwined”.
The leader of the Muslim country of Pakistan described Erdogan as a “pillar of strength for oppressed Muslims and a fervent voice for their inalienable rights”.
“Man of the People”
After cracking down on independent media, the majority of Turkey’s media landscape overwhelmingly praised Erdogan’s victory.
“Man of the people won,” said Sabah newspaper’s headline. “We opened the door to the Turkish century.”
Hurriyet newspaper said: “Victory is Erdogan’s again, the winner is Turkey.”
However, the country is struggling with rampant inflation. The Turkish lira has lost 90 percent of its value over the past decade.
A month after Turkey’s election, skyrocketing inflation is shaking political loyalties
Critics have blamed Erdogan’s unorthodox low interest rate policy – which the opposition had promised to reverse – for the country’s woes.
Erdogan said inflation, which hit a 24-year high of 85 percent last year before falling, was Turkey’s most pressing issue.
It is unclear what Erdogan’s win means for the opposition alliance and whether it will remain intact.
“For the opposition, very difficult days await,” warned analyst Atilla Yesilada, predicting more legal action against the Kurdish party.
(with cords)