Politics

No points from Erdogan. Turkey’s leader claims Eurovision Song Contest is a threat to family values


The Turkish president has criticized the Eurovision Song Contest, accusing the annual event of allegedly encouraging “gender neutralization” and threatening the traditional family

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s president took a swipe at the Eurovision Song Contest on Monday, accusing the annual event of allegedly encouraging “gender neutralization” and threatening the traditional family.

“At such events, it has become impossible to meet a normal person,” claimed Erdogan, whose ruling Justice and Development Party finds its roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement and whose government has grown less tolerant of LGBTQ rights in recent years.

“We understand better how we made the right decision by keeping Turkey out of this disgraceful competition for the past 12 years,” he said.

Erdogan on Monday also decried a serious decline in birth rates in Turkey as an “existential threat” and a “disaster” for the country.

Last week, Turkey’s State Statistical Institute announced that the country’s birth rate in 2023 had dropped to 1.51 children per woman.

The Turkish leader has long called on families to have at least three children.



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