“Turkey Elections 2021: Global Concern and Western Government’s Interest”

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Today Turkey conducted the second round of presidential elections between the incumbent President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan and the opposition Kemal Kilicdaroglu. This election attracted the interest of many parties and became a global concern, including Western governments.

Officially, Western governments will not talk about their preferences in Turkey’s elections, to avoid accusations of meddling in other countries’ domestic politics.

But it is common knowledge that European leaders, let alone the Biden administration, would be happy if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lost.

launch report The New York Times, Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, said before the first round of voting two weeks ago that “[pemerintah Barat] want an easier Türkiye.”

A strategically important NATO member, Turkey under Erdogan has become an increasingly troublesome partner for the European Union, which has largely abandoned the notion of Turkish membership.

Apart from the NATO alliance, Russia is also heavily dependent on the election results. Under Erdogan, Turkey has become Russia’s indispensable trading partner and occasional diplomatic broker, a relationship that has grown in importance to the Kremlin since its invasion of Ukraine.

During his 20 years in power, Erdogan has pursued a non-aligned foreign policy that has often frustrated his Western allies and provided a diplomatic opening that was welcomed by Moscow and felt so much after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By refusing to enforce Western sanctions against Moscow, Erdogan has compounded efforts to isolate the Kremlin by starving Russia of the funds to finance the war.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Turkey’s recently reeling economy has been helped by heavily discounted Russian oil and is providing ammunition for Erdogan in his quest for a third term as president.

Erdogan has also recently irritated his allies by blocking Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, insisting that Stockholm must first hand over the country’s number of Kurdish refugees, especially from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Ankara and Washington see as a terrorist organization. .

More broadly, for the European Union and Washington there is also a strong feeling that Turkey under Erdogan has drifted away from European values ​​and norms such as the rule of law and freedom of the press.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]