Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
A Mother’s Day-themed TV commercial by the German appliance brand Bosch was taken off the air after an outcry from the government, conservative circles and pro-government media outlets over family values.
After Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Crete, detaining at least 20 Turkish nationals among approximately 175 activists on board, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan moved quickly on the diplomatic front, holding back-to-back calls with his Spanish and Greek counterparts.
When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listed Turkey alongside the bloc's strategic rivals, both Brussels and Ankara moved quickly to contain the fallout.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% on April 22, meeting the expectations of most analysts. The decision comes following intensified criticism of both the bank and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, 59, from the business world and media outlets close to the government.
The steps expected to be taken on the Kurdish peace process dominated discussions at the 106th anniversary of parliament's founding. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted that the process was proceeding 'honorably' in reply to the pro-Kurdish DEM Party’s demand for bolder legislative action, while the parliament speaker blamed delays on missed disarmament deadlines.
“The opposition called for a quorum check, and when the required majority was not met, parliament was adjourned.” In recent months, this recurring news in parliament is not merely a simple quorum crisis. Behind it lie both structural problems inherent in the presidential system and the power struggle between the government and the opposition, spilling into parliamentary proceedings.
Hungary’s parliamentary elections on April 12 — described as the toughest test of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule — will be closely watched not only in Europe but also in Turkey by both the AKP and the opposition.
Turkish comedian Tuba Ulu has been detained after a clip from one of her stand-up shows went viral on social media.
Ankara is happy to see the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran as a significant first step, but worries it may not hold. The central fear focuses on Israel, which stayed silent through the night of negotiations only to issue a statement on Lebanon afterward.
No legal steps have been taken despite calls across the spectrum for progress in the Kurdish peace process. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli both called for momentum, and the DEM Party co-chair Bakırhan turned the question back on the government: 'Who exactly are they talking to?'
“The plot of the terror act is amateurish, the implementation is professional,” a terrorism expert told me about the attack that took place in Istanbul on April 7.
The Middle East is no longer simmering — it is boiling over. The genocide being carried out in Gaza, the attacks on the West Bank, the incursion into Syria, and the devastating assault on Lebanon have cemented one uncomfortable truth that much of the world is now willing to state openly: Israel has become the primary driver of instability in the region.