Journalist-Writer
The series of earthquakes that shook Türkiye and snuffed out lives has forced President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Tayyip Erdoğan to change his electoral tactics. Both the impression from the ruling circles in Ankara and Erdoğan’s recent moves and outbursts suggest that the president is preparing to turn the state’s earthquake repair
The February 6 Kahramanmaraş double-earthquake not only shook Türkiye with terrible loss of life and destruction. It also upset the political balance and increased economic uncertainty ahead of a critical election. Politically, President Tayyip Erdoğan and his twenty-odd year old AK Party government have been the most affected by this trauma. Erdoğan has a difficult
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that have shaken Türkiye and Syria into ruins, Turkish politics have embroiled in discussions about the possibility of postponement of the critical 2023 elections that is scheduled for June 18. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu accused President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party
It turns out that the first night of the Kahramanmaraş double earthquake in Türkiye on February 6 was very difficult for the earthquake victims who received no or insufficient aid and this situation. It is an uphill struggle against time and freezing cold. By lunchtime February 7, more than 3482 people died (7108 as of
I asked Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomez Cravinho, whom I met with a small group of journalists after his visit to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu in Ankara, how would Portugal react if Türkiye approved only Finland’s NATO application and not Sweden’s, even though they applied together? The question is meaningful because decisions in NATO
It would have escaped my attention if I had not followed the Twitter accounts of two terrorism experts. One from Türkiye, Nihat Ali Özcan of the think tank TEPAV, and the other from the US, Bruce Hoffman from Georgetown University. Both drew attention to the fact that The Washington Post, in the caption of the
Türkiye’s six party opposition block held their 11th meeting on January 26, falling short of meeting high expectations with their joint declaration. The opposition cooperation that is often called the “Table of Six” has been regularly meeting since last February pledging to instate a “strengthened parliamentary regime” against the current “presidential governmental system,” which was
Among the contradictions Turkey faces ahead of the crucial 2023 elections is the gap between political activity that is in compliance with the Constitution and “realpolitik,” the German term for “politics in accordance with circumstances, not principles.” This is most evident in the question of whether President and ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) leader
One of the most prominent questions in Turkish public debates about the upcoming 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey is undoubtedly who will be the presidential candidates. Even though President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has not yet announced his candidacy, his name is almost certain for his People’s Alliance. When it comes to the opposition,
The Turkish opposition parties, especially the main opposition CHP and its Nation Alliance partner IYI Party, have been avoiding answering a question that’s worth a million dollars: Can President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan run for presidency again? The reason behind the opposition’s reluctance to answer that question lies in the fact that they are worried. They