One of the bigger secrets behind Erdogan's 20-year rule is his ability to turn crises into opportunities.

If there was a lack of a naturally occurring crisis, he even managed to create artificial crises, invent opponents and consolidate his power through shadow boxing.

If he was in a tight spot domestically, he would beat up his western allies, be it Germany or the United States, in order to keep his supporters in line.

Now that he realizes that these tactics will get him nowhere, he drops his aggressive rhetoric and elevates himself to the role of the "architect of peace."

After Erdogan made enemies of Turkey with almost all neighboring countries and with the allies in the west, with whom the country has economic and diplomatic interests,

On the Turkish version of the column


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Because of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, he contacted the Egyptian government under al-Sisi, whom he had previously described as a despot.

Erdogan had called the head of state of Syria, our neighbor with the longest common border, a murderer. Negotiations are now under way at delegation level.

He also made new contacts with Israel, which he had dubbed a “state of terror”.

He once accused Israeli President Shimon Peres of being good at "killing children," and he recently received his successor, Herzog, in his 1,001-room palace.

And he's suddenly on good terms with the United Arab Emirates, which he previously accused of being behind the military's 2016 coup attempt.

Erdogan blamed the government in Riyadh for the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul.

He even asked in an article in the Washington Post, for which Khashoggi had worked, "Who sent the 15 killers to Istanbul on two planes?" and promised that Turkey would solve the murder.

His propaganda chief, Fahrettin Altun, said in a documentary about Khashoggi, addressed to the leadership in Saudi Arabia: "We know that they will sweep everything under the rug." Last week, however, Turkey suddenly decided to shelve the Khashoggi case and left the trial to the government in Riyadh, which previously believed to be behind the murder.

She entrusted the lamb to the care of the wolf, as we say in Turkish.

Erdogan has lost prestige at international level.

This makes it all the more difficult for him to solve the domestic economic crisis.

The status quo changed when the Biden administration took office, and that doesn't make things any easier for Ankara.

So Erdogan is trying to achieve a paradigm shift and is now setting about repairing the bridges he previously tore down.

With a message to the West - "I'm still strong, you can continue to work with me" - he wants to ensure that the money taps are turned on again.

The intention behind this is to reassure the public of his leadership qualities and to mitigate the effects of the economic crisis.

Along the way, his main goal is to push Russia and Ukraine towards a "Turkey peace."

He knows,

that the West is also pushing for a speedy peace because of its dependence on natural gas.

So he's trying to bring together the Russians, from whom he bought the S-400 missile defense system, and Ukraine, to which he supplied armed drones manufactured by his son-in-law's company.

Only effective for a few weeks

His efforts have already had a modest first success.

Delegations from both countries met a few days ago in Erdogan's Istanbul office overlooking the Bosphorus.

In order to speed up the process, Erdogan takes turns on the phone with Putin and Zelenskyj.

He is intent on getting both sides to sign the peace at the negotiating table he has set up.

It doesn't look like the heads of state will meet and agree on a final peace.

But Erdogan's involvement in the matter has produced a result domestically, although it is disputed how sustainable it will be.

In its most recent study, the opinion research company Metropoll recorded a four percent increase in AKP votes, which were hovering around the 30 percent mark.

Something is also moving in Erdogan's favor in the poll for the presidential election.

While previously those who were convinced that Erdogan would not win were eight points ahead, the difference has shrunk to two percent in the most recent poll.

According to the company, this change is due to Erdogan's role as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine.