A flurry of reports and comments in the press about his victory over Kilicdaroglu.

Indicative of some of them.

“According to the Electoral Council, Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the second round of the presidential election. The opposition seems to have failed to convince with the promise of democratization. Berlin and Brussels will have to adjust for another five years with a difficult partner” states Welt in its extensive report from Turkey on its website and adds, among other things, about the “Erdogan century”: “The Turkish Republic is celebrating this year Her 100th birthday. Erdogan’s goal has always been to be at the top of power. It seems that his followers did him a favor and elected him President of Turkey for another five years.”

However, an approach to the political strategy of the current and next Turkish president is also interesting: “Erdogan would not be Erdogan if he did not already have his eyes on the next battle. In his victory speech, he was already campaigning for next year’s local elections. ‘Are we ready to (…) win Istanbul?’ he shouted to the crowd. The city where Erdogan grew up and started his political career switched to the opposition in the local elections of 2019. This has always been a thorn in the side of the President. It seems that the ‘Turkish century’ is only the beginning for Erdogan.

Erdogan “until death” – And the opposition?

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung attempts its own analysis of the electoral result of the second round of the presidential elections and the final victory of Erdogan, who with this victory seals the entry into the third decade of leadership, focusing at the same time on the defeat of the opposition. “Erdogan used all the levers offered to him by the state apparatus. The media he controlled almost completely ignored his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Ultimately, Kilicdaroglu appeared powerless to catch Erdogan’s lead from the first round of the presidential election. In a last act of desperation, he has in recent days changed his election campaign by 180 degrees. He tried to score points with anti-refugee slogans.”

In any case, observes FAZ, “the opposition now faces a critical test. The six parties in the opposition alliance are likely to try to blame each other for the missed opportunity to force Erdogan to resign. The opposition had never come this close to that goal since Erdogan took power in 2003.”

Monday belongs to Tayyip Erdogan

For its part, Munich’s Süddeutsche Zeitung observes that unlike previous election contests, this time it is not a “triumph” for Erdogan. “The numbers are misleading (…) In the previous elections, Erdogan did not even have to go to the second round, he won in the first vote. This time he received just 49.5% in the first round. Erdogan has lost voter support over the years, though less than the opposition had hoped and expected. And this despite the almost absolute dominance of the state, the institutions, the media”.

In the second round he gets 52% and the newspaper observes: “So this is the result after months of campaigning: everything remains the same. With the difference that 48% of voters are affected even more this time. They believed that now they might succeed. With Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a presidential candidate who instead of speaking on stage, formed a heart with his hands. With Kilicdaroglu, the anti-Erdogan (…) The 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu leaves open the possibility of his remaining in politics. But after Sunday night it is no longer a beacon of hope. The laws of nature still apply in Turkey: the next election day will be another Monday. With the winner of the elections, Recep Tayyip Erdogan”.