Turkish Forum

Tag: TIME’s Person of the Year 2011

  • Time readers name Erdogan their ‘person of the year’

    Time readers name Erdogan their ‘person of the year’

    Turkish prime minister voted as most liked and most disliked public figure in parallel polls posted by magazine. Lionel Messi comes in second place

    Aviel Magnezi

    Published: 12.13.11, 00:04 / Israel News

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    The person who we love to hate and hate to love – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been selected as the People’s Choice for Time’s 2011 Person of the Year.

    According to the annual poll, Erdogan received 122,928 votes nominating him as the most influential person of the year, with Barcelona soccer player Lionel Messi coming in a far second with only 75,000 votes.

    “Turkey’s pro-Islamic leader has built his (Secular, democratic, Western-friendly) nation into a regional superpower,” was written on the cover of the Magazine’s November issue, “But can his example save the Arab Spring?”

    However, not all is rosy for the hard-line leader: A parallel online poll rendered him the least fitting figure for the coveted title. More than 180,000 people responded by pressing ‘no’ when asked if the Turkish leader should be named person of the year.

    ארדואן על שער ה”טיים”

    Most liked and most hated. Erdogan on cover of Time Magazine

    The magazine said the ambivalent results showed that the polls rendered Erdogan victorious twice, each time on the other side of the spectrum.

    Meanwhile, Erdogan continued his controversial rhetoric against Israel. The Turkish prime minister on Monday implicitly lashed out at the Jewish State in a recorded speech broadcasted during a convention in Doha, Qatar.

    “When the Mavi Marmara sailed in order to bring humanitarian aid to a poor, starving population, it was attacked in international water in an act of state terrorism,” he said.

    “Peace will not appear in the Middle East as long as state terrorism continues; as long as peace efforts are thwarted, and as long as bombs keep dropping on innocent children and people who are trapped in an open field, like prisoners in a penitentiary,” he said, without mentioning Israel’s name.

    Referring to the deteriorating situation in Syria, Erdogan, who is recovering from surgery, said: “Middle East dictators murdering their own people will not bring stability and calm.”

    via Time readers name Erdogan their ‘person of the year’ – Israel News, Ynetnews.

  • Should Recep Tayyip Erdogan be TIME’s Person of the Year 2011?

    Should Recep Tayyip Erdogan be TIME’s Person of the Year 2011?

    Who Should Be TIME’s Person of the Year 2011?

    From tsunamis to budget battles to revolutions, 2011 has been a tumultuous, news-packed year. Who influenced the news most, for better or worse? Tradition dictates that TIME’s editors choose the Person of the Year, but we want to know: if you were in charge, who would it be? And remember, a person’s inclusion as a candidate in the poll doesn’t mean he, she or they are serious candidates to be named Person of the Year by the magazine

    recep tayyip erdoganRecep Tayyip Erdogan

    By TONY KARON

    No leader better personifies the dramatic changes in the Middle East over the past year than Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Leader of a party rooted in political Islam, he won re-election in July to an unprecedented third term of office, having overseen Turkey’s emergence as the world’s second fastest-growing economy (after China). He was hailed as a role model by ascendant Islamists in post-dictatorship Tunisia and Egypt, where he urged the building of secular democracies. And while he has openly challenged the U.S. on Iran and Israel — which once enjoyed close ties with Turkey — Erdogan remains a key U.S. ally, with a strong commitment to NATO. He has also challenged Tehran by working to topple its key Arab ally, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. If anything, Erdogan is likely to become even more central to events in the coming year with the unfolding of the Arab rebellion, the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and mounting international tension over Iran.

    Should Recep Tayyip Erdogan be TIME’s Person of the Year 2011?

       
    Vote on the TIME’s website:

    www.time.com, Nov. 11, 2011