Kilicdaroglu’s switch to hard-line tendencies and nationalist politics

As the runoff of the presidential election on 28 May approaches, presidential candidates Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Recep Tayyip Erdogan continue to make statements and speeches on a daily basis. The candidates are calling on the 8.352.496 voters who did not go to the polling stations on 14 May to cast their ballots, while at the same time trying to persuade those who voted for the other candidates, Muharrem Ince and especially Sinan Ogan, in the 14 May presidential election. In particular, Kilicdaroglu’s electoral speeches have taken on a harsher and more nationalist tone since the election results on 14 May.
Kilicdaroglu, who had made moderate and constructive speeches about the refugees prior to the election, released a video in which he was more strident in his style. In the video, he made the following remarks about refugees: “We did not find this homeland on the street. We will not leave our homeland to this mentality that has brought 10 million refugees into our country. ‘The border is honor’, that’s what we said. We will not leave our homeland to those who do not lift a finger for the sake of imported votes in the face of this influx of refugees, which one day will increase from 10 million to 30 million and threaten our survival.” The Financial Times described Kilicdaroglu’s new tone as ‘a new hard-hitting campaign strategy and a markedly darker rhetoric’.
An article in the Associated Press also suggests that Kilicdaroglu has hardened his stance and even ‘shifted gears’. The article evaluates his approach after the results of the elections on the 14 May in the following way: “This week, however, the 74-year-old politician hardened his rhetoric in an apparent effort to appeal to nationalist voters, including those who voted for a third candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan.”
The announcement of which candidate Ogan, who is a far rightist, will support is highly awaited as it could be decisive in the outcome of the elections. In an interview with the New York Times, Ogan said that 70 percent of those who voted for him would support his choice and asked for a senior role for the candidate he would support, saying, “Why be a minister when I can be vice president?” Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu recently said that Kilicdaroglu and Ogan were saying the same things: “Actually, there is nothing they are saying differently. They say the same things about refugees. They say the same things about nationalism.” It is expected that Ogan will announce on May 19 which presidential candidate he will support.