The political similarities between Erdogan and Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn’s loyalists might howl at the suggestion that his style is similar to President Erdogan’s. But they would do well to pay heed to the parallels. The Turkish strongman, like the Labour leader, puts great effort into polishing his image as a pluralist and an ally of the minorities. On Friday he sent his customary Passover message to Turkey’s Jewish community, telling them that he regards them as ‘an inseparable part’ of the country. He did the same for Turkey’s Christians as they celebrated Easter on Saturday, adding that ‘(our) diversity is our treasure’.

A day later, though, Erdogan stood in front of a crowd of his faithful and boomed that Israel is a ‘terrorist state’. It is a line he has hammered, to various degrees, since 2009 when he stormed out of a panel discussion on Gaza at Davos following a spat with the Israeli president Shimon Peres. Having accused Peres of killing Palestinian children, Erdogan was greeted back in Istanbul by ecstatic crowds waving placards declaring ‘we are proud of you’.