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CHP SHADOW CABINET UNDER FIRE FOR MIRRORING AKP'S MODEL
Inside Turkey Dec 19, 2025

CHP SHADOW CABINET UNDER FIRE FOR MIRRORING AKP'S MODEL

The CHP has unveiled its new shadow cabinet, touting it as the team that would govern Turkey if elected. However, the lineup has sparked backlash from left-wing critics over the dominance of business figures and center-right politicians occupying key posts. Despite advocating a return to the parliamentary system — where the executive is known as the Council of Ministers and members are elected, not appointed — the CHP has mirrored the presidential model by labeling its team a “cabinet” and appointing shadow cabinet members who are business figures active in the very sectors they oversee.

Editorial Team
REVISING THE PRESIDENCY: AKP’S NEW CONSTITUTION GAMBLE
Capital Currents Dec 18, 2025

REVISING THE PRESIDENCY: AKP’S NEW CONSTITUTION GAMBLE

The new civil constitution that the AKP has been calling for since the 2023 elections is set to become one of the key issues in the new year. Revising the presidential system, addressing the needs of a new peace process, and — inevitably — paving the way for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s renewed candidacy are the main pillars of this process. But any such changes would first require consensus within the party, and then support from the opposition.

Nergis Demirkaya
SECRET WITNESS PARADOXES CLOUD ISTANBUL PROBE
Inside Turkey Dec 14, 2025

SECRET WITNESS PARADOXES CLOUD ISTANBUL PROBE

The withdrawal of a secret witness’ testimony — and the prosecution’s disregard for that fact — in the Istanbul probe is raising questions about the credibility of the indictment against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, CHP Chair Özgür Özel said. Newly released supplementary documents reveal serious contradictions in how secret witnesses were handled by prosecutors, although the government calls it “the largest corruption file of the century.”

Editorial Team
SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN PARLIAMENT
Inside Turkey Dec 12, 2025

SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN PARLIAMENT

Allegations that vocational high school students interning at the Parliament cafeteria were sexually abused by staff have sparked public outrage. The scandal surfaced after a 16-year-old intern reported the abuse and presented incriminating messages to law enforcement.

Editorial Team
RÜZGAR/WIND
Word of the Week Dec 11, 2025

RÜZGAR/WIND

In Turkish, rüzgâr begins as a simple meteorological fact: the wind that sweeps across the Bosphorus, bends Aegean olive trees and makes wildfires spread uncontrollably. Etymologically, it probably blows in from Persian, once meaning “time, fate, weather,” before narrowing into “wind.” But its real life is in metaphor: the wind that shifts fortune, tests patience, topples governments. In a language where song lyricists routinely confide in the breeze, it was only a matter of time before politicians started doing the same.

Nazlan Ertan
MINIMUM WAGE PANEL FACES STRUCTURAL CHANGE AS RAISE SCENARIOS EMERGE
Economy and Finance Dec 5, 2025

MINIMUM WAGE PANEL FACES STRUCTURAL CHANGE AS RAISE SCENARIOS EMERGE

Turkey’s Minimum Wage Determination Commission is preparing for its first major structural overhaul in 50 years after unions said the current system blocks fair representation. The Labor Ministry has proposed an “interim formula” that would cut the government’s seats from five to one, reducing the 15-member body to 11 while keeping five worker and five employer representatives.

Editorial Team
TANKERS ATTACKED IN BLACK SEA AFTER U.S. WARNING, DESPITE TURKEY’S CONCERNS
Foreign Affairs Dec 5, 2025

TANKERS ATTACKED IN BLACK SEA AFTER U.S. WARNING, DESPITE TURKEY’S CONCERNS

Ukrainian naval drones struck two ships alleged to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast, increasing tension in the shared sea even as the combatants pursue renewed peace talks. The Sea Baby drones hit the oil tankers MT Kairos and MT Virat on Nov. 28. Russia has used hundreds of tankers known as the “shadow fleet” to evade Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, delivering millions of barrels of oil to buyers in breach of those restrictions.

Editorial Team