A total of 46.48 percent of Turks believe that foreign powers launched an economic attack against the country, while 57.89 percent think that Turkey has been struggling with an economic crisis because of erroneous policies, according to a recent survey conducted by the Mediar polling company.
A full 77.86 percent of the public, however, admits the existence of an economic crisis, despite President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks denying it.
“What we have recently been experiencing is not a crisis, but rather a manipulation coming from abroad. The last two crises arose from domestic factors; today, however, the situation is different,” Erdoğan said on Sept. 13.
The Mediar survey, which was conducted in İstanbul, the country’s largest city, also showed that 60 percent of the Turkish public describes themselves as nationalist, pro-Atatürk or conservative.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who died in 1938, was the founder of modern Turkey.
The participants were asked about their choices for local elections scheduled for March. According to the results, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would garner 35 percent of the vote, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) 25 percent, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) 10 percent, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 7 percent and the İYİ (Good) Party 7 percent.
Another survey by the ORC polling company indicates the AKP would attract 32 percent of the vote in the local elections next March, while the CHP would receive 24 percent, the MHP 15.7 percent, the HDP 5 percent and the İYİ Party 2.4 percent. According to this survey, 19.6 percent of respondents were undecided.