|
A mere 3.6 percent of Turkish citizens viewed the so-called “parallel structure” as the country's largest problem, while 33 percent selected unemployment as the major issue facing the nation, according to the results of an annual poll conducted by İstanbul's Kadir Has University released on Tuesday.
The “parallel structure” is a phrase frequently used by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his supporters to refer to members of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen-inspired Hizmet movement who occupied positions in the state bureaucracy. A total of 50.3 percent of those surveyed believed that a “parallel structure” exists, while 23.7 percent say they don't believe such a structure exists and 26 percent did not offer an opinion on the subject.
The survey covered a wide range of topics and polled an equal number of men and women from varying economic backgrounds and levels of education and was presented at a press conference held at the university. The poll was conducted between Dec. 4 and 14 and covered 26 provinces in Turkey.
While unemployment was most widely considered to be Turkey's most serious problem, terrorism came in second, with 13.9 of those polled selecting it as the country's largest issue. This marked a considerable spike from the 2013 survey, where 4.7 percent said they felt terrorism was the most important problem in the country.
The possibility of an economic crisis, the Kurdish issue, income inequality and cost of living rounded out the top six issues viewed as the most important according to the survey. While surveys from previous years indicated that then-Prime Minister Erdoğan himself held a higher approval rating than the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), this year's survey indicates that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's approval rating was slightly lower than that of the party's.
Overwhelming nationwide support for parliamentary system
A total of 79.3 of respondents said Turkey should continue to be governed by a parliamentary system, whereas only 12.6 percent said a presidential system should be installed. President Erdoğan has vowed to transform the country's parliamentary system into a presidential regime, even chairing a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday, sidelining Prime Minister Davutoğlu. Erdoğan is constitutionally allowed to chair such meetings, although previous presidents have rarely used this privilege. A photo of the sidelined Davutoğlu was widely shared on social media following the meeting.
Regarding the major corruption and bribery investigation that went public on Dec. 17, 2013, which implicated various high-ranking state officials and pro-government businessmen, the survey revealed that 38.4 percent said the investigation was launched with the intention of revealing governmental corruption, while 35.6 percent said the investigation is a result of the battle between the AK Party government and the Hizmet movement. The percentage of those who believe the corruption investigation was a coup attempt to overthrow the AK Party government stood at 24.7 percent.
The two most trusted institutions in the country were the military and the Presidency, which received positive votes of confidence from 57.5 and 40.5 percent of those polled, respectively. Political parties and the media were the two least trusted institutions, receiving a confidence rating of just 22.9 and 18.8 percent, respectively.
A total of 71.4 percent said they supported Turkey's EU membership, a major rise from the 51.8 percent polled in 2013, although only 45.1 percent believed that Turkey will actually be able to achieve membership. The top three international threats to Turkey were Israel, the US and the European Union, all allies of Turkey, while Armenia, Syria, Iran and Greece rounded out the top seven. Only 30.8 percent viewed the US as an ally of Turkey; however, this was a considerable increase from 2013, when only 14.4 percent viewed the US in a friendly light.
(Cihan/Today's Zaman)
|
Poem
Manşetler
Spor
Son Dakika
Haber
Yerel Haberler
