Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogann has blamed Israel and its supporters for what he says is international media hostility to the country’s Islamic-leaning ruling party.
"The international media, because they are backed by Israel, wouldn't be happy with the continuation of the AK Party government," he said, according to the state-run Anatolian news agency.
Erdogan and other Turkish political leaders have blasted an editorial in the British news magazine The Economist which called for the country’s voters to support the opposition in Sunday’s election.
In a column, the magazine commented: "The best way for Turks to promote democracy would be to vote against the ruling party,” marking its support for the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
It said that although the Turkish economy had flourished under Erdogan and the AK Party, it warned that Erdogan’s victories over the army and judiciary has given him too much power and will now allow him to "indulge his natural intolerance of criticism" and feed his "autocratic instincts."
The British weekly cited Erdogan’s crackdown on the media among other reasons to push back against what it said were his repressive measures.
Although Erdogan is widely expected to win its third consecutive term, he said the article was “part of an anti-democratic, pro-Israeli conspiracy.”
Turkey’s European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis, who is the chief negotiator in membership talks with the EU, accused the foreign media of being part of "anti-democratic and mafia-like organizations."
He denounced “international dark elites who control the international media.”
A former Interior Minister, Besir Atalay, who is also running in the election under the AK Party banner, told the Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman: "We all know about the impact of the Israeli lobby in international media institutions. I consider this a reflection of Turkey's policies in regards to Israel and the Palestinian people."
But according to political observers, Erdogan's Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party looks set to win a third term in office Sunday.