Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Ankara may nominate Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general, a Turkish official told Turkey in Depth, but the move hinges on a tentatively expected color-coded straw poll expected next week: if a permanent member signals a veto against frontrunner Rebeca Grynspan, Turkey is likely to propose its candidate.
In one of the country’s largest financial scandals, payments to victimized fund investors began and priority will be given to small investors, according to statements from officials.
For the first time in nearly five years, Turkey’s annual inflation rate slipped below 30%, giving the central bank room to consider easing monetary policy at its meeting on Oct. 22.
Electronics and home appliances exporter Vestel Elektronik faces growing financial pressure as Moody’s cut its long-term rating and warned of a very high risk of default.
Scores of journalists, activists, and politicians gathered outside the Constitutional Court Oct. 7 to protest censorship of social media accounts.
“Flowers bloom on the mountains of Izmir / The golden sun scatters gold thread there / The routed enemies all flee like the wind / Long live Mustafa Kemal Pasha, long live! Your name will be inscribed on a jeweled stone.”
Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Cemil Tugay’s decision to join the AKP caused a major stir, bitter disappointment, and protests. After all, Izmir has long been regarded as a stronghold of left-wing politics. In fact, the city can be analyzed as “a city with center-right leanings that consistently votes for left-wing social democrats because of its opposition to the AKP.”
Just as the ink was drying on the Mecca Pact, the deployment of troops is now on the table, following Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
Fresh judicial action hit opposition-run municipalities on Oct. 1, the day parliament reopened. Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer, Yenişehir Mayor Abdullah Özyiğit and Mezitli Mayor Ahmet Serkan Tuncer were among 59 people detained.
Expectations that the Framework Law on the Terror-Free Turkey process would take effect in October have shifted to December.
Can Atalay, stripped of his parliamentary seat and held in prison since 2022, began a hunger strike as parliament reconvened on Oct. 1, while the main opposition Yeni Party walked out when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the floor during the opening speech.
The court released four defendants, while informants who testified under effective remorse provisions refused to answer most questions from defense lawyers during cross-examination, claiming their previous testimonies were based on hearsay.