On September 23, 2021, I shared my assessments of domestic and foreign policy with Superhaber. Highlights from the interview:
“I am the daughter of a mother with the soul of a leader”
“I have a dream of returning to Türkiye and going into politics”
“Ekşi Sözlük should either be shut down or subjected to a strict oversight mechanism”
“In 2004, when I said ‘I am Turkish’, they would look at us as if we were a country in the Maghreb”
“French opposition figures say: ‘Despite the conflict of interests between France and Türkiye, you have a strong leader’”
“I supported our President because he defends our national values and has taken our country to a whole new level”
“There is a perception that the 5 permanent members of the UN represent the whole world; that is not the case”
“One reason we love our President is that he is always the voice of the oppressed”
“Relative to our gross national product, we are the country that gives the most aid; we are known as the most generous country in the world”
“Before coming to power, Biden had said they would bring down Erdoğan through cooperation; that gave us a clue that foreign powers would back the opposition”
“Istanbul and Ankara were won thanks to HDP votes”
“From ‘everything will be wonderful’, services have come down to zero”
“I hope the opposition engages in self-criticism”
“When there was a duel between Macron and Erdoğan, Macron’s rival Le Pen was able to say ‘I support Macron’. If those two fierce rivals can come together, so must we”
“We find ourselves asking how national the opposition is and whether it represents our country’s values”
“I was deeply saddened by İmamoğlu’s interview with the French press headlined ‘Türkiye is starving for democracy’.”
“The opposition has two paths before it: a single candidate, or each component fielding its own”
“The hesitation over a single candidate is that producing one who can appeal to every segment is very hard, which could lower election turnout”
“There are efforts not to alienate the HDP”
“Meral Akşener sees herself as a candidate”
“Barring a last-minute surprise, there is no name that can seriously challenge our President”
“Despite the pandemic, Türkiye was one of the two economies that kept growing, alongside China”
“According to economists, it will take time for economic growth to reach people’s pockets”
“The most important issue is food prices”
“Although what is happening in Türkiye is perceived as government incompetence, it is a global situation”
“Even the French economy contracted by 8.3%”
“Türkiye is fighting both the pandemic and outside interference; our task is very hard”
“The AK Party’s biggest rival is itself”
“We cannot gauge the relationship between the opposition and the organisations”
“Every country in the world envies Türkiye’s geopolitical position”
“There will be forces trying to bring us down from both inside and outside”
“I cannot call the entire opposition traitors”
“The opposition should follow a more national line”
“In the face of national threats, we must come together and close ranks”
“Coups are not a thing of the past”
“If the U.S. president can take the oath on the Bible, why shouldn’t the head of Religious Affairs open the Turkish House in the U.S. with prayers?”
“The biggest obstacle between the U.S. and Türkiye is FETÖ’s lobbying”
“The U.S. is playing a double game. It keeps sending truckloads of weapons to the YPG in Syria”
“The role we take on in Afghanistan and our duties within NATO could tip the U.S. scales in our favour”
“In France they write that there will be a war between Türkiye and Russia, yet the two are working together”
“I believe Türkiye and Russia will work along the lines of cooperation”
“In 2020 I wrote that Türkiye would pursue a foreign policy putting its own interests first — and so it did”
“The United Arab Emirates was a development that greatly surprised me”
“The era of Trump’s blank cheque is over; Biden is following a different foreign policy”
“Türkiye and France are the two countries with the longest diplomatic relations, spanning more than 500 years”
“Like Sarkozy, Macron favours treating Türkiye as a partner rather than a full member”
“Names such as Valérie Pécresse could also come to the fore for the French presidency”
“In the cold war between the U.S. and France, there are interesting questions: how will Türkiye come into play, will an EU army be created?”
“Where our interests are at stake, we must assess events from every angle — from Jakarta, from Indonesia, from Paris”
“Macron’s independent policies are unsettling for Biden”
“The game is being set up anew. As the cards are dealt, where Türkiye stands is crucial. Will it stand closer to the EU or to NATO?”
“The U.S. has not only lost international standing; it also has serious problems at home”
“The cost of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is 2 trillion dollars, and will reach 6.5 trillion by 2050”
“Our Greek neighbour is leaning on both the EU and the U.S.”
“The Alexandroupolis issue is a message not only to Türkiye but also to Russia”
“If the opposition comes to power, we cannot sustain the image of an independent, strong Türkiye”
“Our President is not the leader of 83 million alone — he is a world leader”
“The opposition seems set to pursue an inward-looking, outwardly dependent policy”
“A lack of vision prevails within the opposition”
“The biggest problem regarding migrants is disinformation”
“The majority of the 3.7 million Syrians are women and children”
“Afghan migrants number around 300,000, not millions as claimed”
“We cannot, like Tanju Özkan, multiply their bills tenfold with a fascist, racist attitude”
Source: Superhaber
