Turkey’s ruling party members stick with Erdogan
Despite growing public discontent, senior members of Turkey's ruling party stick with President Erdogan.
In-house rifts within the ranks of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) often grab headlines in the Turkish press, yet these reported rifts hardly transpire into an exodus from the party despite the country’s crippling economic problems and growing public discontent. Experts and political analysts attribute this loyalty to several factors.
The major factor seems to be the AKP’s success in maintaining its strong support base despite the astronomical price hikes and swiftly diminishing purchasing power. While several polls suggest a steady erosion in the party's popular support, many polls still show the AKP as the leading party with its voter share ranging between 27% to 36%.
Birol Baskan, political scientist and nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute, argues two social segments are playing the leading role in this phenomena.
“First, religious orders and brotherhoods. Second, the country’s rural population,” Baskan told Al-Monitor.
