Poll shows falling support for Erdoğan’s coalition

Popular support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling alliance has fallen to just over 32 percent, according to polling company Turkey Report.

Only 26.6 percent of respondents said they would vote for Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) if elections were held in May. While only 6 percent of voters backed the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Erdoğan’s electoral partner.

The results were based on a survey of approximately 1500 people 12 cities, Turkey Report said.

The AKP and MHP coalition, known as the People’s Alliance, won a combined 54 percent of the vote at the 2018 general election, with a 43 percent and 11 percent vote share respectively.

But an aggregate of polls earlier this year found a steady decline in support for the People’s Alliance in the first three months of 2021.

Poor economic performance and allegations of financial mismanagement appear to have weighed heavily on support for the government.

The Turkish lira neared a record low against the dollar on Thursday, compounding a decline in value since Erdoğan abruptly sacked central bank governor Naci Ağbal in March.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have built momentum in criticising the government over an alleged $128 billion spent defending the value of the Turkish lira under the former Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Erdoğan’s son-in-law.

According to Turkey Report, 55 percent of people believe the economy will be “worse” or “much worse” this year, a figure that has been steadily rising since March.

Despite his government’s flagging approval ratings, Erdoğan continues to command significant levels of respect, scoring 5.3 when respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness of political leaders on a scale of 1 to 10.

Meral Akşener of the opposition Iyi Party, ranked second, scoring 4.4. While main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu came fourth with 3.6, behind MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli on 3.9.