Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
CHP Chair Özgür Özel escalated his rhetoric, urging people to take to the streets in response to what he described as a diminishing role for Parliament. Addressing crowds at public rallies and budget debates in Parliament, Özel emphasized the historic weight of legislative authority. “The right to control the budget is humanity’s greatest democratic achievement. Parliament is not born of the budget — the budget is born of Parliament,” he said.
Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University launched an investigating after musician Kaan Tangöze altered the lyrics of the song “Baltalar Elimizde” (The Axes Are in Our Hands) during a concert on campus, prompting political backlash.
İYİ Party Chair Müsavat Dervişoğlu condemned the parliamentary visit to İmralı, calling it a “national disgrace” and asserting that there is no statute of limitations for what he described as betrayal. İYİ Party deputy Alpaslan Yüce resigned from his party, saying it had abandoned its founding centrist ideals.
A rift has emerged between the two smaller nationalist partners in the People's Alliance, the MHP and the BBP, over talks held with Abdullah Öcalan.
Democrat Party (DP) Izmir Deputy Haydar Altıntaş has announced the party's withdrawal from the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission, citing objections to the delegation’s visit to İmralı where PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has been jailed since 1999.
As the CHP prepares for its 39th Ordinary Congress, the party dissidents escalated their challenge to the leadership of Özgür Özel. Former CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu,76, lit the fire by calling on Özel to take disciplinary action against people named in the corruption indictment involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Rallying frequently since the arrest of CHP’s presidential candidate and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March, CHP Chair Özgür Özel has continued directing sharp criticism at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in each major political debate.
As the countdown continues for the NATO Summit to be hosted by Ankara on July 7-8, 2026, preparations are accelerating in the capital. Activity focuses on sites along the approximately 17.5-km route from the Presidential Palace, where the leaders' summit will take place, to the military airfield in Etimesgut.
Turkey marked the 102nd anniversary of the Republic with fresh signs of political realignment — reminiscent of the symbolic gestures seen during Parliament’s opening earlier this month. While the chairs of Gelecek Party and DEVA Party, both breakaway movements from the AKP, attended the Presidential Palace reception for the first time, the MHP opted to stay away. Talks on a possible merger among conservative parties are also ongoing.
So our word of the week is soygun, robbery - as in art heist. On a quiet Sunday morning in Paris, the world’s most visited museum turned into a crime scene. In under eight minutes, thieves hit the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon (the home of France’s Crown Jewels) and fled with royal pieces tied to Empresses Marie-Louise and Eugénie, and Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. Investigators say the crew used a lift to breach an upper window. Ministers Rachida Dati and Laurent Nuñez confirmed that the alarm tripped and police arrived within minutes. The symbolism stings more than the price tag. (Think eight figures.)
Tufan Erhürman became the new president of Northern Cyprus in Sunday’s election—winning twice as many votes as incumbent Ersin Tatar. Erhürman is a familiar name among Turkish Cypriots but not to the Turkish public. A seasoned politician who has served both as prime minister and party leader, he joins a line of Cypriot leaders whose names rarely surface in Turkey outside moments of crisis. Yet, like some of his predecessors, Mehmet Ali Talat and Mustafa Akıncı—both presidents from the same social-democratic tradition—his story also crosses paths with Ankara’s academic and political world.
When a European expert based in Bulgaria received an invitation to a conference in Tbilisi, he decided to take the maritime route, boarding the ferry from Burgaz to Batumi. At one stage of the 64-hour crossing, while sailing in the open sea, the ferry shut its transponder and turned off its lights. A Russian fuel tanker approached and docked with the ferry to provide fuel to the ship, which is mainly used by trucks. The expert later found out that Russia sold the fuel 30 to 40 percent less than the market price. The captain of the ferry confessed he had all the official documents proving that the fuel was purchased from Romania.