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WHAT DOES ALİ BABACAN WANT TO DO?
Portrait of the Week May 29, 2026

WHAT DOES ALİ BABACAN WANT TO DO?

In a political climate marked by constant clashes and shifting agendas — sometimes several in a single day — how did Ali Babacan manage to stand out? He attended both the opening of Parliament and the Republic Day reception, posing for photographs with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Suddenly, all eyes were on him. “Is he returning to his old party?” people asked. Some even claimed he was poised to become a minister again. He firmly denied those claims. Yet when similar criticism came from the CHP, he shot back sharply: “Come off it.”

Anonymous
DEADLOCK OVER COMMISSION’S VISIT TO ÖCALAN CONTINUES
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

DEADLOCK OVER COMMISSION’S VISIT TO ÖCALAN CONTINUES

The parliamentary commission formed to pave the way for a new Kurdish peace process remains stuck over whether its members should visit jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. A planned session of the commission has been postponed once again, even as hopes rise for the release of imprisoned Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş following a third ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

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COMMISSION PREPARES TO DRAFT BILLS AS ERDOĞAN HOSTS İMRALI DELEGATION
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

COMMISSION PREPARES TO DRAFT BILLS AS ERDOĞAN HOSTS İMRALI DELEGATION

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation, as the parliamentary commission listened to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç for the first time since the PKK announced that all its forces in Turkey had begun withdrawing to northern Iraq.

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PHOTOS REVEAL RIVALRY BETWEEN AKP AND CHP OVER OTHER OPPOSITION PARTIES
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

PHOTOS REVEAL RIVALRY BETWEEN AKP AND CHP OVER OTHER OPPOSITION PARTIES

The photos taken at the start of the new legislative year, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan posed with chairs of opposition parties, including AKP breakaways, in the absence of the CHP, revealed the contest between the AKP and the CHP to win their support. After the images went viral, Erdoğan renewed his call for a new constitution more forcefully, while his ally, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, insisted that the parliamentary commission visit PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı and urged Öcalan to call on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to lay down arms. The same day, slogans in Kurdish for Öcalan’s freedom — “Biji Serok Apo” — were chanted at the DEM Party’s group meeting. The party, which holds the third-largest number of seats in parliament, could significantly alter the political dynamics if it supports a constitutional change. While the photos of opposition figures with Erdoğan drew sharp criticism in the opposition media, concerned about alienating them, CHP Chair Özgür Özel personally called all opposition party chairs to ease the row.

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ERDOĞAN SIGNALS NEW PHASE IN KURDISH ISSUE AS CHP SKIPS PARLIAMENT OPENING
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

ERDOĞAN SIGNALS NEW PHASE IN KURDISH ISSUE AS CHP SKIPS PARLIAMENT OPENING

The new legislative year of the Turkish Parliament opened without the CHP, which boycotted the session in protest at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ongoing crackdown—starting debate over parliamentary legitimacy. Erdoğan swiftly countered the criticism, declaring that “legitimacy comes from the people.” He followed his remarks with a symbolic gesture: shaking hands with all parliamentary group leaders, including first-time photo-ops after many years with the heads of AKP offshoots DEVA and the Gelecek Party. Notably, Erdoğan coolly used his address to tell the pro-Kurdish DEM Party that the next phase on the Kurdish issue will be implementation. Praising the work of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission for holding 12 meetings so far with broad participation from political parties, Erdoğan said, “Once the commission completes its work, we will undoubtedly have very important findings in hand. The next phase will be the implementation of the proposals raised within the commission, as a result of consultation and consensus.”

Editorial Team
HIGH-STAKES DIPLOMACY: ERDOĞAN’S WHITE HOUSE VISIT AND ITS STRATEGIC COSTS
Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy May 29, 2026

HIGH-STAKES DIPLOMACY: ERDOĞAN’S WHITE HOUSE VISIT AND ITS STRATEGIC COSTS

There is a way of establishing a working relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. First you have to make sure you see him as a smart, respectable world leader. That’s the easy part. Then you have to lure him with trade deals, making sure he is the winning side. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when Turkey unilaterally dropped its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products on Sept. 22, a few days before the scheduled meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Buzzwords are important for Trump, and tariff is one of them. The tariffs, which covered products including passenger cars, fruit, rice, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, solid fuels, and chemical products, were introduced in 2018 in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports enacted during Trump's first term in office.

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CHP ISTANBUL CONGRESS HELD DESPITE LAST MINUTE JUDICIAL CHALLENGE
Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

CHP ISTANBUL CONGRESS HELD DESPITE LAST MINUTE JUDICIAL CHALLENGE

The CHP’s efforts to thwart the judicial crackdown through holding congresses once again faced obstacles.Nevertheless, CHP Istanbul provincial head Özgür Çelik, who has been ousted by court decision, was re-elected, after the Supreme Election Council rejected the court’s efforts to stop the congress.

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CHP FACES INTENSIFYING CRACKDOWN DESPITE LEGAL REPRIEVE
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

CHP FACES INTENSIFYING CRACKDOWN DESPITE LEGAL REPRIEVE

The CHP has received a brief reprieve from ongoing legal turmoil as a lawsuit seeking to annul its 38th Ordinary Congress—held on November 4–5, 2023—was postponed to Oct. 24. The delay offers the party a short breathing space. Now it is preparing for a new extraordinary congress on Sept. 21 that might address some of the legal challenges it faces. But the crackdown against CHP municipalities is pressing on. In the latest development, Bayrampaşa Mayor Hasan Mutlu became the 12th CHP mayor arrested in Istanbul—and the 18th nationwide—since the crackdown began in October 2024.

Editorial Team
OPPOSITION NATIONALISTS: PROSPECT OF A COMMON FRONT
Capital Currents May 29, 2026

OPPOSITION NATIONALISTS: PROSPECT OF A COMMON FRONT

Is cooperation among nationalist parties possible? What are the prospects and obstacles? Turkish politics has been polarized into two main blocs since the transition to the presidential system: the AKP on one side and the CHP on the other. While the AKP kept parties like the MHP, BBP, and HÜDA-Par in its orbit, the CHP advanced by forging open or tacit alliances with the DEM Party and İYİ Party. But this opposition front collapsed after the defeat in the 2023 elections.

Editorial Team
SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR AGAIN TURKEY'S TOP TAXPAYER
Economy and Finance May 29, 2026

SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR AGAIN TURKEY'S TOP TAXPAYER

The Revenue Administration has announced the top income taxpayers in 2024, with most names once again kept confidential. For the fourth year in a row, Baykar Chair of the Board Selçuk Bayraktar, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, ranked first, paying 2.77 billion lira in income tax.

Editorial Team