Journalist-Writer
President Tayyip Erdoğan is on the verge of one of the most difficult decisions of his political life. He has to take this strategic step with high political risk not only as a president but also as a rulnig Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Parliament’s winter recess ends
From President Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech at the 97th anniversary ceremony of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on January 10, it is possible to draw a few important conclusions or ask questions in terms of Türkiye’s security approach. Before proceeding with the analysis, let us make a few brief notes. “We are living in an era
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s glance at Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç’s cell phone has become a hot topic in Ankara politics. We will get to that, but first, let me tell you the news. When it was revealed that no replacement for Türkiye’s Ambassador to Washington Murat Mercan, who will complete his term on January 14
President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Tayyip Erdoğan took a strategic step and entrusted the local election goal of “Istanbul Again” to former minister Murat Kurum. Kurum was not the candidate most likely to take the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) popular mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu. For
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance published Türkiye’s top taxpayers list after 3 years on January 3, revealing that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Türkiye’s drone manufacturer Baykar’s chairman, Selçuk Bayraktar, has been the top taxpayer for three years in a row: 2020, 2021, and 2022. First of all, congratulations to Bayraktar. He became
“Their search continues. But they cannot find candidates to win,” the main opposition Republican People’s Party leader Özgür Özel said, stating that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ruling block, “People’s Alliance,” have not yet announced their candidates for the upcoming local elections, especially for critical cities like Ankara and Istanbul. “My
Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate announced on December 21 that President Tayyip Erdoğan congatulated Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Es-Sisi on his election for the third term. At first glance, it appears to be a routine courtesy call, but Erdoğan had for years called Sisi a “coup plotter”, bringing Egypt-Türkiye relations to a freezing point. Before I
Germany’s national airline Lufthansa announced on December 19 that it signed a $9 billion deal with US aircraft manufacturer Boeing for the purchase of 100 aircraft and with Airbus for the purchase of 60 aircraft. Four days earlier, on December 15, Turkish Airlines (THY) announced that it had signed its largest-ever aircraft purchase agreement with
Perhaps Mr. Mehmet Şimşek, Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance, will also need one “Sadık Abi.” “Abi” means elder brother in Turkish and is also a courtesy word for someone older than you whom you respect and like. Mr. “Sadık Abi” appears to be the janitor of the building where Central Bank of the Republic
Yesterday, on December 14, there were two important developments that show that Türkiye’s relations with both the United States and the European Union have become even more strained over the common denominator of Sweden’s NATO membership. One was the EU leaders’ summit’s acceptance of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia as candidate members, and the other was