You raise a good point. Regardless of the reason behind these narratives, it does suggest a real change could be coming to Turkey. I guess the real question is if Erdogen would relinquish his power peacefully.
(I thought he was at war with the Kurds)
That I don't know. Obviously Erodogen has not been good to the Kurdish peoples of the middle east, but I think the only official war against Kurds by Turks is going on in Syria. Considering the number of Kurds in Turkey, it is possible that Erdogen is losing support among them. I'm not familiar enough with their voter turnout or election system to take a guess at how much that would effect his chances though.
I am surprised to hear that the Kurds are a big source of his support. They appear to be something of a disparate "group". Along side the Syrian Kurd story are the Iraqi Kurds, who I thought Turkey had been battling for some time.
I'm surprised too. Makes me wonder how bad the other guy/party must be.
Along side the Syrian Kurd story are the Iraqi Kurds, who I thought Turkey had been battling for some time.
I decided to do some reading about this, and it seems like a very nuanced sort of relationship between Kurds and the nation of Turkey. A few quotes from wikipedia:
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), founded by Masoud Barzani, leans toward conservative nationalism and has a strong presence in the north.[10] Given their geographic location, they have historically relied on Turkey for international leverage.
Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has aligned itself with Marxist ideals during their liberation struggle and has a stronghold in the southern Iraqi Kurdistan.[10] They have tended to seek support from Iran and Syria.
So if I had to take a guess, many of the Kurds in Turkey are carrying on that capitalist/communist duality from Iraq, and would rather have a leader that hates them and upholds their economic ideology, than a communist that would pander to them.
I tend to agree with your opinion, which is one reason I'm interested. If he could lose, it changes the narrative a bit, and if these stories are planted bs, then that's something too.
https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/2018/06/13/why-erdogan-s-election-has-gone-from-shoo-in-to-nail-biter
(I thought he was at war with the Kurds)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/06/12/is-erdogan-losing-his-grip-on-turkey/?utm_term=.2bfa2a37de43