2023-04-27 10:00:02
Struggling with an intestinal virus, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to cancel his public engagements Thursday for the second day in a row, 17 days before presidential and legislative elections announced as perilous.
The head of state, 69, including twenty in power, must however speak by videoconference around 1:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. GMT) for the inauguration of the country’s first nuclear power plant, a way to dispel the most alarmist rumors about his health.
The inauguration of the Akkuyu power plant (South), built by the Russian giant Rosatom, was to be one of the highlights of the week for the Turkish president.
Mr. Erdogan had even expected the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who must finally also speak by videoconference.
On Wednesday evening, the director of communications for the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun, wanted to silence the rumors surging on social networks after the announcement of the cancellation of the two trips by the head of state scheduled for Thursday.
“We categorically reject such unsubstantiated claims regarding President @RTErdogan’s health,” Altun tweeted, sharing screenshots of widely relayed tweets claiming the Turkish president had suffered a heart attack.
– “Stomach flu” –
The episode started on Tuesday evening: the Head of State, less than 20 days before the double ballot on May 14, was to give a long interview to two Turkish television channels, after making three public appearances in three different cities more early in the day.
The broadcast, delayed without explanation for an hour and a half, was suddenly interrupted in the tenth minute, in the middle of a question from a journalist.
“Oh wow,” said an unidentified voice from behind the camera before the show was cut, as the interviewer rose from his chair.
The head of state, pale in complexion, reappeared on the air a quarter of an hour later before cutting the interview short, explaining that he “caught a stomach flu”.
In a tweet, the Turkish president, whose approach has sometimes slowed down in recent years, announced the next morning that he would “rest at home today on the advice of doctors”, canceling three planned trips to central Anatolia.
– “No worries” –
“Don’t worry, he’s fine. I think he’ll resume his agenda (…) from tomorrow,” Turkish Family Minister Derya Yanik wanted to reassure Thursday morning, interviewed on the private channel NTV.
However, the episode falls very badly for the Head of State: in power since 2003, first as Prime Minister then as President, Mr. Erdogan faces an opposition advancing in a united front and given in good standing by many opinion polls.
His main opponent, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, at the head of an alliance bringing together six opposition parties, also received the tacit support of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, considered the kingmaker of the presidential election.
In the home stretch before the double ballot, the Head of State intended to line up two to three daily meetings, after having shared during the month of Ramadan the fast-breaking meal in a different locality each evening.
The health of the Turkish leader, whose medical report is not made public, had fueled speculation after a large intestine operation at the end of 2011, followed by another surgery the following year.
Mr. Erdogan, then Prime Minister, had publicly denied suffering from colon cancer, explaining that the operations were aimed at removing polyps.
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