PM Erdoğan loved, hated in online poll

WASHINGTON

PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrives in Dolmabahçe Palace for his meetings. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected both as the most popular and the least popular person of the year 2011 by participants in an opinion poll annually held online by Time magazine.

“He is lauded as a steward of Islamic democracy. He has helped boost Turkey to its place as the world’s second fastest-growing economy. Though not an Arab, he is the most admired world leader among Arabs, according to a University of Maryland poll. His diplomatic missions bring out throngs of cheering crowds that could make a rock star jealous,” said an article on Time magazine’s website.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Erdoğan followed a busy schedule yesterday despite the laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery he underwent Nov. 26. The prime minister had earlier cancelled a visit to Qatar to attend a meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations on Dec. 10, as his doctors advised him to rest until he had fully recuperated.

The prime minister’s first official program since the surgery kicked off at Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace yesterday afternoon. Prime Minister Erdoğan first received Romanian President Traian Basescu at around 2:30 p.m., followed by a host of ministers from other Balkan states at 3:30 p.m. The prime minister is expected to return to Ankara on Dec. 15 to preside over a meeting of Turkey’s Supreme Military Council (YAŞ).

Prime Minister Erdoğan enjoyed a clear lead in Time magazine’s poll with nearly 123,000 votes. Prominent football player Lionel Messi followed in second position with over 74,000 votes, while “99 percent of the people,” a euphemism coined by activists from the Occupy Wall Street movement, came in third place.

Prime Minister Erdoğan also ranked in the top spot on the list of “least popular” persons of 2011 with more than 180,000 votes, while “the 1 percent” of the Occupy Wall Street movement came in second, with less than 35,000 votes. Casey Anthony, a released murder suspect, took third place.
Time magazine will announce its own choice for the “2011 Person of the Year” within the week. The U.S.-based magazine features its own selection on its cover page rather than the winner of the poll results.

Compiled from Anatolia News Agency and Doğan News Agency stories by the Daily News staff in Istanbul.