WHO IS LEADING THE POLLS?
CHP Chair Özgür Özel and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s latest disagreement is over which party is leading the polls. Since the March 2024 local elections, Özel has said the CHP is the most popular party.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
YANGIN
I had every intention of writing about düğün/wedding this week. Who could resist, after all, the cinematic absurdity of Jeff Bezos’s Venetian wedding extravaganza? It was the sort of wedding you'd rage over for its sheer insouciance over war, poverty, and environmental concerns: a three-day floating carnival of tuxedoed billionaires, Brazilian butts and a $2,000 bottle of tequila airlifted across continents because, apparently, Venice no longer has liquor stores. The bride wore archival Dolce & Gabbana; Ivanka looked pretty in pink and a German-Turkish Bezos lookalike desperately wanted to meet the couple and present a wedding gift. I was far too ready to bitch about arrogant extravagance and muse on Turkish weddings, those long, loud, gold-pinned affairs where uncles compete in folkloric footwork and everyone pretends the damat's family is not agonizing over the costs…
A STORY OF POLITICAL ‘BROTHERHOOD’
Exactly 18 years ago — the summer of 2007. Then-Prime Minister Erdoğan raised Abdullah Gül’s hand in the air, and called him “my brother,” as he announced his candidacy for president. That summer, Gül was elected as Turkey’s 11th president — the first president to emerge from within the AKP. A new era was beginning, with the party’s two most powerful figures holding the posts of president and prime minister.
TURKEY’S INTERNATIONAL LIMELIGHT LASTS FOR A SHORT TIME
The world’s spotlights were turned to Istanbul last week as Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for the first time after three years. The prospect of a potential meeting between the Russian and U.S. leaders in Turkey led to praise for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by some international media outlets.
MAY DAY CLAMPDOWN OVERSHADOWED BY ERDOĞAN’S ITALIAN CHARM OFFENSIVE
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid a one-day official visit to Italy on April 29. He was received in Rome with pomp by his counterpart Sergio Matarella as well as Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. This was a visit of niceties on each side. To Erdoğan’s satisfaction, the Italians did not raise any political issues, especially those pertaining to his iron fist authoritarian rule and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu’s arrest.
ERDOĞAN’S RESPONSIBILITY AT THIS HISTORIC MOMENT
After the deplorable treatment of Zelenskyy at the hands of Trump and Vance in the Oval Office, there is no question that the world, especially Europe, is at a critical threshold. If a brave new Europe is to emerge out of this crisis, every stakeholder must play their part. How President Erdoğan assumes his responsibilities will be of crucial importance for Turkey. By Hakan Okçal
FULL-FLEDGED CRACKDOWN ON CHP CONTINUES
The financial crimes police raided Şile Municipality on July 10, detaining Mayor Özgür Kabadayı as part of the widening corruption investigations targeting CHP-run municipalities. It was yet another ordinary day for the main opposition, which has been facing near-daily legal turmoil since Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on March 19. CHP Istanbul Chair Özgür Çelik said Kabadayı and several others were detained in house raids at 1:30 a.m. Arrest warrants were issued for at least six individuals, said the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
SABRE-RATTLING BREAKS OUT AFTER CADETS SWEAR OATH TO ATATÜRK
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a U-turn about the oath sworn by cadets graduating from a military academy in which they drew their swords and promised to be the soldiers of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in protecting secularism in the country. “Against whom are you drawing these swords?” asked Erdogan eight days after the incident, joining the chorus that associated the unofficial oath with the military tutelage that Turkey suffered in the past. Then, arguing that the new graduates had fallen into a trap set by others, he told a workshop arranged for religious high school graduates that he would fire those who had influenced the cadets.
DEFECTIONS, CONFESSIONS AND NOW CLOSURE: THE CHP'S MOUNTING TROUBLES
The CHP is facing an unprecedented convergence of crises one after the other. Afyonkarahisar Mayor Burcu Köksal has defected to the AKP. Jailed Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım and Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek have applied for the effective remorse law, alleging they paid CHP Chair Özgür Özel and his close ally MP Veli Ağbaba in exchange for nomination in the municipal elections. The allegations have raised the spectre of closure proceedings against the party — with Özel increasingly in the crosshairs.
TURKEY AND GERMANY REOPEN A STRATEGIC CHAPTER AFTER 12 YEARS
A mechanism between Turkey and Germany that had been halted over a decade ago came back to life on May 18, when Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Berlin.
CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTATOR ARRESTED IN ILLEGAL BETTING PROBE SAYS INVESTIGATION IS 'CORRECT'
Pro-government television commentator Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was remanded in custody on May 18 as part of a wide illegal betting and money laundering investigation led by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
AKP PREPARES TO LAUNCH ELECTION CAMPAIGN ON 25th ANNIVERSARY
The AKP has begun laying the groundwork for the 2028 presidential and parliamentary elections, with plans to formally launch its campaign on Aug. 14 — the 25th anniversary of the party’s foundation.