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.
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.
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.
BAHÇELİ DRAWS THE MAP, ERDOĞAN HOLDS THE WHEEL
Ahead of the AKP’s inaction, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli has outlined a detailed institutional framework to advance the peace process, urging all three branches of government to take concrete steps — while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his government's determination to see it through without giving up caution.
BILAL ERDOĞAN HEADS AKP DELEGATION IN SYRIA VISIT
Bilal Erdoğan, son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and chair of the İlim Yayma Foundation, visited Syria on May 14 alongside a senior AKP delegation that included Deputy Chair and Head of Foreign Relations Zafer Sırakaya, parliamentary group deputy chair Abdulhamit Gül, and Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin.
BATTLE OF WORDS IN THE KURDISH PEACE PROCESS OVER ALLEGED FORTIFICATION
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan renewed his commitment to the “Terror-Free Turkey” process even as signs emerged of internal division within the government over whether the PKK is disarming and the PKK accused Turkey of stalling.
TWO MOST CHALLENGING PILLARS OF PEACE PROCESS
The Terror-Free Turkey process, widely dubbed as frozen or stalled, has been revived by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s latest remarks. Erdoğan said the process, now entering its 18th month, has reached a critical juncture requiring much more delicate management: “There is a positive atmosphere. What needs to be done is clear. The process is proceeding as it should.”
GOVERNMENT’S INVESTMENT INCENTIVES DRAW CRITICISM OVER LEGAL CONCERNS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced a comprehensive investment incentive plan, aimed at making Turkey a 'global attraction center,' but the plan drew criticism over the lack of enforcement of existing laws.
RESHUFFLING AMONG POLICE CHIEFS AND GOVERNORS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed a new national police chief and reassigned several governors and provincial police directors in a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on April 30.
ERDOĞAN AND BAHÇELİ MEET AS MHP UNDERGOES INTERNAL REORGANIZATION
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli at the presidential complex in Ankara on April 30 for a closed-door meeting lasting approximately one hour. It was only the second face-to-face encounter between the two coalition partners this year — their previous meeting took place on Jan. 21— and the first in over three months.
KURDISH PEACE PROCESS DOMINATES PARLIAMENT'S FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY
The steps expected to be taken on the Kurdish peace process dominated discussions at the 106th anniversary of parliament's founding. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted that the process was proceeding 'honorably' in reply to the pro-Kurdish DEM Party’s demand for bolder legislative action, while the parliament speaker blamed delays on missed disarmament deadlines.