Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
After shaping Turkey’s Pravda-style media landscape as head of the Directorate of Communications since 2018, Fahrettin Altun has been appointed chair of the Human Rights and Equality Institution, a move that looks like a demotion.Deputy Foreign Minister Burhanettin Duran replaces Altun.
The possibility the trial of imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu could be televised by state broadcaster TRT has sparked rare agreement among political rivals. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan endorsed MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli’s call for the hearings to be aired live. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç also weighed in, saying that Parliament can act on the matter if there is consensus.
The chairs of Turkey’s ruling alliance launched coordinated attacks on the main opposition CHP, accusing it of internal disarray, corruption, and political opportunism.
The ruling AKP and MHP chairs continued calling for a strong “domestic front,” urging the opposition not to voice objections as the Kurdish process continues.
A lawsuit seeking to annul the results of the CHP’s 2023 congress—based on allegations that delegates were bribed—has triggered a renewed power struggle between current Chair Özgür Özel and his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Former HDP Co-Chair Mithat Sancar described the government’s “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative as unique, “a process that differs from global conflict resolution practices. If successful, it will enter the world’s academic literature,” he said.
t has been seven months since MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli extended a hand to DEM Party members, and two months since PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on his organization to lay down arms. The PKK, which announced it would comply with the call, made its first request for Öcalan to be allowed to communicate with the organization in order to hold a dissolution congress. However, no concrete progress has been made on this request, which requires government action. This has led some to ask if the process is stalling or whether there is a problem between the AKP and the MHP.
In Turkish politics, few words are as loaded—or as likely to provoke presidential rage—as “cunta.” From its etymological roots in the Spanish resistance to Napoleonic rule (junta, meaning a council), cunta has acquired a sinister sheen along the way. Today, it conjures images not of patriotic committees, but of tanks on boulevards, generals behind microphones, and constitutions suspended by decree (Bet you’ve heard that last one before). So when CHP Chair Özgür Özel recently accused the ruling bloc of staging a “civilian coup”—sivil darbe—and likened the government's tightening grip to a junta mentality, it landed like a Molotov cocktail in Turkey’s ever-combustible political arena.
“The first political party leader to be arrested since the September 12, 1980, military coup era after Selahattin Demirtaş.” The arrest of Zafer Party Chair Ümit Özdağ was reported in the media with this headline. However, there is no other similarity that would warrant him being mentioned in the same sentence as Demirtaş. In fact, they belong to entirely different worlds and are entirely opposing figures. Özdağ has been in custody at Silivri Prison for a month since Jan. 21, 2025.
The word of the week is “ayazda kalmak,” literally translated as “being left out in the cold.” This phrase conveys the sting of exclusion, akin to the English “getting the cold shoulder.” It vividly portrays the experience of feeling neglected or overlooked, much like standing outside on a frosty night while others bask in warmth within. This colloquial idiom recently gained attention following a gathering of the CHP's “Big Three” on Feb. 9. CHP Chair Özgür Özel, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş convened to discuss whether the party should hold primary elections to determine its presidential candidate (Check Deep Dive for more). The photo from the meeting showed the three seated at a table by a fireplace, their notepads open, smiling convivially—your standard political meeting photo. No official statements were made.