Azfar Majeed, London
A few of you on Twitter have asked me why I admired Erodgan.
I admire his political nous, if not his policies.
Sometimes in life, you have to admire something you might not love. I had to say well done to Fenerbache this season for example. Champions are Champions for a reason.
In the political field, Erdogan is a champion too.
Many years ago, whilst studying Political Science at Queen Mary University in London, our classes attention turned to Turkey and its possible accession into the European Union.
The Political ramifications of allowing Turkey into the EU was discussed, (I still remember been the only 1 in our class of 9 supporting Turkey!) but it was the charisma and personality of the man leading Turkey at the time that grabbed my attention, and not just because he was a former footballer.
I like to analyse performances from a neutral point of view. You have to admire beauty and brilliance no matter who is behind it. It's what I do with football too, and it's what I'll do briefly with Erdogan here.
Recep Tayyp Erdogan was a newcome at the time, and he wasn't expected to last long. Indeed, our Politics class were unanimously agreed that his time would be brief and that he would eventually fall from office.
The odds were stacked against him, as he took over a Turkey in financial turmoil following a succession of unstable coalition governments. Coming from an alledged 'Islamist' background (for which he served a jail sentence) it seemed inevitable that he would be doomed to failure. He was in a weak position with the influential military seemingly destined to crush him.
What happened next was quite a miracle from Erdogan. He stabilised the Turkish economy after decades of instability by following a policy of 'Friendship' with all other countries. In a hugely successful move, Erdogan reversed decades of previous Turkish governments by focussing on trade with Turkeys eastern neighbours as well as following a pro-EU policy in the West.
The fruits of that approach can be seen by Turkeys economic performance in recent years. Turkeys economic growth in recent years has been quite extraordinary.
I could see the affects of that when I was at Erdoogan's University in Marmara a couple of years ago.
Domestically, he has fought many battles against strong opposition and has emerged victorious on most occasions. Like a master Chess player, he has maneuvered himself brilliantly and currently sits in a position of great strength.
The odds were stacked against him a decade ago. Erdogan has done brilliantly since then however, as he looks to win another landslide today.
Love him or hate him, you have to take your hat off to Erdogan.
