ISTANBUL // When Turkey's opposition leader attended the first rock concert of his life the other week, it was more than just a fun night out. It was a political message. In a country where half of the population is younger than 29, younger and first-time voters are enjoying special attention from political parties before parliamentary elections June 12.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the main challenger to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, went to a concert of Turkish musicians playing rock classics that included songs by Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin in Ankara last month. "Tonight we have found a common denominator with the youngsters," Mr Kilicdaroglu said afterwards.
Mr Kilicdaroglu's party, the secularist Republican People's Party, or CHP, is fighting a reputation of being a club of old men in grey suits. Before a recent shake-up by Mr Kilicdaroglu, who became party leader last year, the CHP leadership was sometimes referred to as the "Politburo" in the press. According to a poll published earlier this year, the bulk of CHP voters are older than 45 years, in a country where people from the age of 18 have the right to vote.
As almost half of Turkey's 52.7 million voters are younger than 34, all parties are wooing young people with plans for reforms in the education system and other projects that are likely to appeal to them.
Mr Kilicdaroglu's party promises to cut the mandatory military service for every Turk male from 15 to 6 months. Devlet Bahceli's right-wing Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, says it will abolish university entrance exams. The government says it will make sure more people can get a university degree and will put a focus on better foreign-language skills. In their effort to go with the times, leading Turkish politicians, Mr Erdogan, Mr Kilicdaroglu and Mr Bahceli, have launched Twitter accounts.
Bekir Agirdir, a pollster, told yesterday's Taraf newspaper that Mr Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, which is seeking a third term in government, can expect another big win with 46 to 50 per cent of the vote, with the CHP trailing at between 25 and 27 per cent and the MHP following at 9.5 to 10.5 per cent. In the last elections in 2007, the AKP won 47 per cent, the CHP 21 per cent and the MHP 14 per cent.
No other party is expected to cross the threshold of 10 per cent of the nationwide vote needed to win seats in parliament. Turkey's main Kurdish party, the Party for Peace and Democracy, or BDP, is fielding nominally independent candidates, who are exempt from the 10 per cent rule, to get around the barrier and can hope to get around 25 to 28 deputies into the chamber of 550 deputies, according to Mr Agirdir, the pollster.
Even though no one expects the AKP to lose the elections, some experts say that the opposition has a good chance of eating into Mr Erdogan's share of voters by concentrating on the young. A youth unemployment rate of around 22 per cent among Turks aged between 15 and 24 was one of the factors that could benefit CHP and MHP, pollster Adil Gur, the head of the polling firm A&G, told the daily newspaper Sabah last month. A series of alleged cases of corruption involving university entrance exams could also hurt the ruling party, Mr Gur said.
Other observers point to a more general dissatisfaction with a government that has been in power since November 2002. Tens of thousands of people gathered on Taksim Square in central Istanbul on May Day, many shouting protest slogans against the Erdogan government. "The first thing I noticed on Taksim Square was how young everybody was," Asli Aydintasbas, a columnist, wrote in the Milliyet newspaper.
But observers are divided on how the youth factor will play on election day. Even if some young voters do turn away from the AKP, the shift would not amount to more than two or three percentage points, Tarhan Erdem, Turkey's most respected pollster since he predicted the scale of the AKP's last election win in 2007, said earlier this month. Even reports of alleged foul play during university exams were unlikely to concern Mr Erdogan deeply, because most AKP voters had not attended university, Mr Erdem said.
"The biggest trump card for the AKP is the economy," Mr Erdem said. Turkey's GDP grew just under nine per cent last year alone and has doubled since the AKP came to power in 2002.
Not surprisingly, Mr Erdogan has been using the country's economic boom, increased consumer spending and a rising living standard for many people as arguments to convince voters to give the AKP another term in government. At a recent campaign event, the prime minister said Turks would buy up to one million cars this year and had bought 436,000 refrigerators in the first three months of this year, almost 100,000 more than in the same period in 2010.
Mr Erdem said economic factors such as these were likely to be dominant on June 12. "If the economy was not such a success, other factors would matter more," he said.
He declined to give his own estimate of a possible election outcome, citing confidentiality agreements with clients of his Konda polling company.
tseibert@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Company%20profile
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: April 10
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.
4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Kandahar%20
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
THE%C2%A0SPECS
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