RESHUFFLE IN JUDICIARY GAINS MOMENTUM AFTER GÜRLEK’S APPOINTMENT AS JUSTICE MINISTER
A sweeping reshuffle in Turkey’s judiciary and security bureaucracy accelerated following the appointment of Akın Gürlek as justice minister.
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FROM OATH SCUFFLES TO LAWYERS’ AND CHP’S REBUKE: GÜRLEK’S TURBULENT START
Soon after Akın Gürlek began serving as justice minister, the gloves were taken off in politics with the CHP. One of the newly-promoted prosecutor's first acts was to restrict imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s access to his lawyers.
FIVE-PARTY ROADMAP SETS STAGE; ALL EYES ON ANKARA FOR NEXT MOVE
The “process report” that charts the roadmap for Parliament toward solving the Kurdish question has been finalized. The document did not push the limits of the AKP and MHP too far; it received a cautious “hopeful” endorsement from the CHP on the grounds that accepted democratic demands “must not remain mere words on paper”; the DEM Party deemed it “better than nothing” despite its shortcomings; and the Yeni Yol group welcomed with a familiar “not enough, but yes.”
CHP’S FOREIGN POLICY DILEMMA: RULES OVER PERSONALITY IN A TRUMP ERA
The CHP emphasizes moving away from personalized, leader-to-leader foreign policy toward one grounded in formal institutions, rules, transparency, and oversight.
NO SPECTACLE FOR RAMAZAN: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FROM EXCESSIVE CALORIES
Diplomacy loves spectacle because spectacle is easy to schedule, easy to photograph, and very easy to mistake for substance. Add social media and you get the Olympics of visibility: who attended, who hosted, who was seated where, who spoke, and, in the end, who ate what.
ROMANIA IMPOSES SECOND FINE ON OTOKAR
Otokar, the Koç Group vehicle manufacturer that signed a €857 million agreement with Romania in Nov. 2024, was fined for the second time for delays in the project schedule.
ÖZEL CHALLENGES ERDOĞAN OVER BADGE AS AKP HOLDS BACK
The CHP was shaken by the resignation of Ankara’s Keçiören Mayor Mesut Özarslan, but the political momentum shifted after the AKP did not move forward with his expected transfer, leaving him politically isolated. CHP Chair Özgür Özel challenged President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to publicly pin an AKP badge on Özarslan amid speculation he would join the ruling party.
ANKARA STEPS UP GLOBAL ENERGY PUSH WITH NEW BP PARTNERSHIP
British energy giant BP became the third high-profile petroleum partner of state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in the past month, highlighting Ankara’s efforts to increase upstream production while diversifying its alliances.
CALL FOR POLICIES TO CURB TURKS’ OVERSEAS SPENDING
President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) Şekip Avdagiç has triggered a wave of criticism after suggesting the government should introduce policies to limit Turkish citizens’ spending on vacations abroad.
ALARM BELLS RING FOR TURKISH DRAMAS
The television drama industry is facing an unprecedented crisis as soaring inflation and domestic regulatory pressures threaten its global standing, alongside suppressive measures, including the detention of manager Ayşe Barım and the ongoing detentions in a drug and prostitution case that has labeled many figures from the sector.
SERBIAN PRESIDENT’S VISIT UNANNOUNCED UNTIL LAST MINUTE
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Ankara, but his visit was kept off the public schedule until the last minute, Turkey in Depth has learned.
ATHENS–ANKARA DEADLOCK: NO BREAKTHROUGH, BUT DIALOGUE REMAINS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met in Ankara on the 30th anniversary of the Kardak (Imia) crisis, serving as a reminder that the fundamental disagreements that nearly brought the two NATO allies to war 30 years ago remain unresolved.