An overwhelming majority of Turks, 68.3 percent, think President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is the party of the rich, according to a recent opinion poll.
The results of Metropoll’s “Turkey’s Pulse” survey for April were announced on Friday on X by Professor Özer Sencar, the owner of the company.
Approximately 70% of voters think that the government favors the rich. Those who think they are on the side of the poor are only 16%. The financial difficulties of lower-income groups made the AK Party the second party. pic.twitter.com/fAxL0oNcXW
— Ozer Sencar (@ozersencar1) May 3, 2024
The participants of the survey, conducted on 2,235 people across 28 provinces in Turkey April 17-24, were asked, “Do you think the AKP is the party of the rich or the poor?”
While 68.3 percent said they believe the AKP is the party of the rich, only 16.4 percent said it’s the party of the poor, with 15.3 percent indicating they don’t know or providing no response.
According to a comparative table shared by Sencar, the percentage of those who say that the AKP is the party of the poor decreased from 31.9 percent in July 2021 to 22.9 percent in July 2022 and 16.4 percent in April 2024.
The survey comes at a time when public unhappiness with members of the ruling AKP is growing due to their extravagant lifestyles amid the country’s ongoing economic woes.
Recent incidents involving expensive watches and business jets have highlighted the stark contrast between the lifestyle of some AKP deputies and the needs of the people.
While Bahadır Yenişehirlioğlu, deputy leader of the AKP parliamentary group, faced criticism after posting a photo on social media of himself wearing a Rolex watch worth around 562,000 Turkish lira ($17,270), nearly 33 times the monthly salary of a minimum wage earner in Turkey, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş’s use of a state-owned business jet for a family trip to the southeastern province of Mardin stirred up another controversy. AKP MP Şebnem Bursalı was also criticized for sharing photos of a lobster dinner that cost 60 euros — about 12 percent of Turkey’s minimum wage – in Monaco, a city known for its luxury.
Critics have long accused the AKP under Erdoğan’s leadership of illegally amassing personal fortunes, in stark contrast to Erdoğan’s humble proclamation in the 1990s about his possessions being limited to his wedding ring when he was a young and fiery politician from the Islamist Welfare Party.
A corruption probe in 2013, implicating Erdoğan and his inner circle, marked a turning point, with the government’s response culminating in a purge of the judiciary and law enforcement.
Dissatisfaction among the people continues to grow, especially given the country’s economic plight and the financial woes of citizens. The contrast between the lifestyle of the AKP elite and the daily struggles of average Turks is fueling a broader discussion about how Erdoğan and the AKP are draining Turkey’s resources while the people have to make do with the leftovers.