Recep Tayyip Erdogan was supposed to be in Akkuyu today, in the Mediterranean, inaugurating the first Turkish nuclear reactor together with Vladimir Putin. Although the presence of the Russian president was never confirmed, nobody could imagine that the Turkish president would miss a moment that he had been cherishing for almost fifteen years. Finally, both have intervened by videoconference and in the case of Erdogan, looking very bad, but dispelling the worst rumors about his health.
These began to accumulate on Tuesday night, when Erdogan had a severe illness on air, within ten minutes of an interview by two related television channels. The director concealed the worst moment, which led to the interruption of the broadcast, showing only one of the interviewers while he embarked on an endless question that went unanswered, with concern written on his face.
Although the interview - which had started an hour and a half late - resumed after twenty minutes, an idling Erdogan - who apologized for an "intestinal virus" - could only answer one question before ending the interview. meeting, setting off alarm bells among the audience.
Next, his team announced the suspension of all electoral acts and inaugurations -difficult to distinguish- scheduled for Wednesday and, later, also for today Thursday, without there being a date for the resumption of his public activity right now. Just yesterday, what has been branded as "gastroenteritis" prevented Erdogan's presence at the inauguration of the high-speed rail line between Ankara and Sivas. The president had to do an act at each stop on the tour.
The presidential communication directorate hastened to dismiss as "categorically false" the rumors echoed by various media - including Chinese public television - according to which Erdogan had suffered a myocardial infarction and was hospitalized.
His appearance on the screen, from the Ankara palace, together with Putin -from the Kremlin- has attenuated the most catastrophic speculations. Akkuyu, by the way, has just received its first fuel load and will not supply power for another two years, at best.
In any case, it supports the image of firmness that Erdogan has been trying to project for twenty years and that gastroenteritis leaves decomposed, seventeen days before the presidential and parliamentary elections. Worse still, the same day that the polls have been opened for the early voting of several million Turks abroad, who traditionally opt for the elections in favor of Erdogan's AKP.
The same image of strength, valued by many Turks and now undermined, was being bolstered with the unveiling of various "achievements" of the Turkish defense industry, including a main battle tank, this very week. For the undecided, the aircraft carrier Anadolu has been receiving visits for two Sundays at the entrance to the Golden Horn.
Meanwhile, the rival who will very possibly contest the second round of the presidential elections to the former soccer player Erdogan, the slightly corpulent Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, has wished him a speedy improvement. In an interesting twist of fate, the Turks are no longer so clear on who is the strong man. Erdogan, 69 years old -five years younger than Kiliçdaroglu- usually displays a frenetic activity, capable of exhausting those around him, although lately he has been limping slightly.
In any case, speculation about Erdogan's health is not new, especially since he underwent an operation in 2011. Although Erdogan denied that he had colon cancer, according to the doomsayers at the time, he should have been dead for ten years.
Putin, particularly effusive, has made it clear today where his heart lies. "Akkuyu is a convincing example of everything that you, President Erdogan, do for your country, for the development of your economy and for all Turkish citizens. I want to say it bluntly: You know how to set yourself ambitious goals and how to achieve them with confidence." . Akkuyu, which will cover 10% of Turkey's energy needs at full capacity, represents a business of 20,000 million dollars for Rosatom.
