It was September 3, 2022, in the Turkish port city of Samsun on the Black Sea.

Erdoğan's son-in-law, who sells armed drones all over the world, hosted the Teknofest technology festival.

There the President proudly announced: "Today we are exporting to countries that yesterday refused to sell us technology for the defense industry."

Erdoğan's pride is not unjustified.

Among the weapons that have been shifting the balance of power in a number of battlefields, including Ukraine, are combat drones produced by his son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar.

At the Teknofest not only the son-in-law's products were exhibited, there was also a competition where young people presented projects.

Erdogan, who said in his speech: "We support the young people in whose care we will give our country in every possible way", presented the winners with their prizes.

On the Turkish version of the column


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The 20-year-old software developer Can Cebeci was among the recipients.

However, two months later, the young man offered the gold medal he had won in September on an auction platform.

His embarrassed comment under the photo of the ad read: "I won the first prize, our President gave me the medal.

I have to sell it because my financial situation is disastrous.” At what price did the young man, who was awarded for a cybersecurity project, offer the medal?

For 1000 lira, around 50 euros.

The "Generation Teknofest" that Erdoğan is leading at his election rallies does not have enough to eat.

Can Cebeci is not alone.

The most capable young people are leaving the country.

According to statistics from the Association of Software Entrepreneurs, in 2021 more than thirty thousand software developers were forced to go abroad.

This year, it is feared, there will be a hundred thousand.

The number of asylum applications by Turkish citizens in Germany in the first ten months of this year was almost 16,000, an increase of 176 percent.

And Europe is not the only destination of young people.

Figures released by US Customs and Border Protection show that over the past 18 months, nearly 22,000 Turks have crossed the border into the US with Mexico and asked for asylum.

In view of the state of the economy, this is unfortunately not at all surprising.

In the first ten months of the year, 35,000 companies closed down in Turkey.

Youth unemployment has reached 36.6 percent.

In Istanbul, where economic opportunities are still better than in other cities, 58 percent of residents say they cut down on their meals to make ends meet.

The grim reality is reflected in the happiness study among young people: 96.3 percent of those surveyed answered the question of whether they were happy with no.

More importantly, the question: "Will your situation improve in the coming year?" 66.5 percent answered in the negative.

Billions of former enemies

Can Erdoğan win the upcoming elections in seven months?

The opposition alliance of six parties is putting the government under pressure, although it has not even been decided which candidate they will field against Erdoğan.

To secure five more years in the palace, Erdoğan can do two things: First, whip the economy into shape.

If he doesn't succeed, he can undertake nationalist initiatives.

With the aim of remedying the economic dilemma, he tries to untie diplomatic knots.

He points to the time after the election when it comes to the question of Sweden and Finland's NATO membership, thereby trying to prevent the West from taking a negative step.

And he is striving for reconciliation with states that he had previously declared openly enemies.