After two decades in power, outgoing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed threatened by the repercussions of the economic crisis and his "monopolization of power," but Rayes topped the results of the first round of his third presidential election, contrary to all expectations.

This is what Agence France-Presse began its report on Erdogan a week before the run-off for the presidential elections in Turkey, which he is running after leading the first round against his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

It was interesting that many Western news agencies focused before the elections on criticism of Erdogan, and saw Kılıçdaroğlu's greatest chance, but returned after the first round to focus on Erdogan's popularity and his increasing chances of deciding the race during the run-off.

In Ankara, from the balcony of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in front of a crowd of enthusiastic supporters on the evening of the first round of elections, the president gave a clear signal to his country: a message of stability.

Unlike in 2014 and 2018, he did not win the battle from the first round, but enters the second round on May 28 from a position of strength with 49.5% of the vote, compared to about 45% for his rival, opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

Neither the prison, nor mass demonstrations, nor even the 2016 coup attempt succeeded in stopping the rise of the "Rayes" as his supporters like to call it, but this year he faces heavy criticism for the state of the Turkish economy and the anger of survivors of the devastating February <> earthquake, who were left to face their fate in the first days after the disaster, according to AFP.

Still a champion

But the results of the first round proved that this devout Muslim advocating family values is still the hero of the conservative majority that has long been scorned by the civil and secular elite.

Erdogan has brought about a profound transformation in Turkey through massive infrastructure projects that have included building highways, airports and mosques, and a foreign policy open to East and Central Asia, at the expense of Ankara's traditional Western allies whom he tried to co-opt upon coming to power.

Despite Western aversion to him, the war in Ukraine allowed him to return to the forefront of the diplomatic scene thanks to his mediation efforts between Kiev and Moscow, while about a year ago he blocked Sweden's entry into NATO.

But Erdogan's opponents accuse him of authoritarianism, especially after the July 2016 coup attempt and the 2017 constitutional amendments that expanded his powers.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Agencies)

A sultan from the people

Erdogan is often portrayed in the West as a clinging sultan, but the man – nostalgic for the Ottoman Empire and who built a palace with more than 1000,<> rooms in Ankara – continues to present himself as a man of the people against the "elites."

He has enshrined his image by winning every election since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, but he was nevertheless subjected to political shocks, especially when the opposition deprived him in 2015 of his parliamentary majority, and then of the mayoralty of Ankara and Istanbul in 2019.

Although his movement has slowed at times, Erdogan is still able to hold 8 meetings in one day, showing off his oratorical abilities by citing nationalist poems and Quranic verses to stir up crowds.

Born in Istanbul's popular Kasimpaşa district, Erdogan aspired to pursue a short career in football, before moving into politics.

He learned the origins of the political game within the Islamist movement led by Necmettin Erbakan, and then pushed to the forefront with his election as mayor of Istanbul in 1994.

In 1998, he was sentenced to prison terms after singing a religious poem in an accident that contributed to the strengthening of his position.

He had the opportunity to take revenge when the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which he co-founded, won the 2002 elections. The following year, he became prime minister and remained in that position until 2014, when he became Turkey's first president elected by direct universal suffrage.

Defeating the putschists

Erdogan, who is married with four children, remains in the eyes of his supporters the only one capable of "standing up" the West and leading the ship through regional and international crises.

Since the large anti-government demonstrations violently suppressed in the spring of 2013, Erdogan has become the figure facing Turkey's biggest criticism.

The president faced the most severe test on the nights of July 15 and 16, 2016, during a bloody coup attempt.

Erdoğan's pale face was imprinted with a picture of him making an appeal to the people that night via a mobile phone screen, and then arriving triumphantly at Istanbul's old Ataturk airport at dawn declaring the putschists defeated.

If he is re-elected on May 28, 10 years after the massive protest movement in Gezi Park that he severely suppressed, his grip on the country will further strengthen despite the discontent of his opponents.