An equitable resolution to the crisis with Greece and France would be great for Turkey, but even that may not help the Turkish president’s approval ratings.

BARIN KAYAOĞLU

Is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan using tensions in the Mediterranean to boost his domestic approval and win the yet-unannounced-but-constantly-rumored snap elections? Many of his opponents think so.

In his “A Look at the Week” show with Rusen Cakir on the independent news platform Medyascope on Aug. 28, the journalist Kemal Can underlined an interesting point: Turkey’s recent military operations in Syria boost Erdogan’s approval ratings. The various crises in Syria prove that, while a similar crisis in the eastern Mediterranean may boost Erdogan’s approvals, the effect will be short lived. Erdogan’s attempts to use nationalist rhetoric to undermine his domestic opponents call into question the true aims of his foreign policy moves. 

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