In Turkey, the presidential elections were officially held, in which Recep Tayyip Erdogan won, although the West expected another person – oppositionist Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. TASS collected the reaction of the world media about this event.
In Turkey itself, they were surprised by the second round of elections, as evidenced by Dunya: “For the first time in its history, Turkey elected a president in the second round. Different scenarios of the election results caused fluctuations in the markets since the beginning of the year. Be that as it may, the elections are now over.”
Israel believes that Erdogan has finally overcome the country’s biggest economic crisis in decades and defeated the most powerful opposition alliance.
“Erdogan is admired by the poorest and most rural sections of Turkey’s fractured society for championing religious freedom and modernizing the once-decaying cities of central Anatolia,” writes the Times of Israel, a local newspaper.
As for Saudi Arabia, they reacted ambiguously to Erdogan’s victory. This is how Asharq Al-Awsat describes the political event: “In the second round, the citizens of Turkey had to choose between two different views presented by the candidates – either “survival” and “continuity” with the incumbent conservative President Erdogan, or “change” with his secular rival Kilychdaroglu”.
Cyprus and Lebanon felt that Turkey was following the right course of events, and the local media Cyprus Mail and Al Mayadeen TV channel said that the current elections are a real victory for the incumbent president.
The reaction of the United States and Great Britain was predictable, these countries immediately declared that the elections were held dishonestly, and the hopes of the Turks for a better life had failed. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, Erdogan has proven that he is the leader of his country, having survived the coup attempt in 2016.
German media reported that the world underestimated Erdogan and the support he enjoys among the Turkish people.
“Erdogan is banking on Turkey, even if it is a NATO member, to act as a neutral player and a regional intermediary power,” writes Handelsblatt.
And what about France? Here, local media remembered the earthquake in Turkey, as well as Erdogan’s attempts to help his people. For example, Sud Ouest writes that “even residents of areas hit by a massive earthquake in February voted for the incumbent head of state, who made generous promises and promised to restore destroyed homes.”
In Greece, the Proto Thema edition called the elections “a clear victory for Recep Tayyip Erdogan”, and in China’s Xinhua they are confident that the current president will maintain his assertive foreign policy, delicately balancing between West and East.
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