In recent months we have underlined that changes are taking place in Turkey at a fundamental level and public perceptions are undergoing serious transformations. The Coronavirus Pandemic and economic crisis, together with the experience of 2020 into 2021 when both factors were at work, have caused these changes. More than changes in perceptions, we are also starting to see transformations.

We, the team at MetroPOLL who work every day to report on Turkey’s Pulse in our reports, have been saying that Turkey is “leaving behind its habits and customs of the past”. Nevertheless, no matter how clearly we see the signs and announce them, there are structures and groups that resist change. We can name the opposition as one group that has fallen behind the pace of change in society at large.

Don’t forget that it is the true friend who tells the painful truth.

It’s a sad fact that those who turn their back on criticism will one day discover how isolated they have become and face the unpleasant truth in the mirror. Those who only want to hear “yes, sir” and who think their own brains are enough will never leave behind anything of lasting value.

At a time when half the population, and 70% of young people, have given up hope and want to live abroad, it’s not enough to be satisfied with mediocrity; it is time for humble self-improvement. This is a time when politeness is sacrificed to rage and rudeness; when “my word is law” crushes knowledge and intelligence. Wisdom and elegance are disparaged. It’s a time when people look you in the eye and lie.

Real maturity is seeking what you will become, not what you are.

This is the frame of mind in which we devote almost our entire report to the opposition. This country needs an opposition that is a force for accurate and appropriate criticism and that can clean up politics and society. This is true for all societies that aspire to democracy.

An examination of the opposition and how it is perceived also helps understand what society’s hopes and expectations are. Understanding Turkey means understanding which societal demands are being met and which ones are being frustrated.

It is clear that opposition parties are falling behind Turkey’s pace of change and need to adapt themselves more closely to the public pulse.

The February Turkey's Pulse survey was carried out using the stratified sampling and weighting method on 1,604 people in 28 provinces based on the 26 regions of Turkey's NUTS 2 system between February 19 - 22. The survey used CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) methodology with a margin error of 2.45 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.