Devlet Bahçeli, leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) always gets what he wants. No, I’m not only saying this because of the release of Alaattin Çakıcı, an organized crime leader from jail in the framework of the partial coronavirus amnesty. Nor am I saying this because of the role Bahçeli played in rejecting Interior
In my earlier piece, I had mentioned our ongoing research that investigates the economic costs of delaying a full lockdown . In this piece, I would like to share the preliminary results from that research that explores the effects of COVID-19 on the Turkish economy and proposes policy recommendations. In addition to myself, the research
Columnist Uğur Gürses has discussed in an article at Duvar English the state of the Turkish economy at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak. “Turkey was caught with the coronavirus outbreak at a time when it was weak structurally. Just like in the Covid-19 epidemic, the underlying disease story is the story of those problems
Let’s put it this way: Which other minister in President Erdoğan’s cabinet in today’s Turkey could publicly announce his or her resignation only to be met with Erdoğan’s request to stay? Let’s broaden the question. Who, in the presidential team, could announce his or her resignation via Twitter? And who would Erdoğan publicly tell to
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu declared late on April 12 on his Twitter account that he resigned, right after announcing that a curfew launched on April 10 at midnight would be suspended as of 12 pm on April 12.His written statement contained words of self-criticism that went beyond the ruling AKP’s traditional discourse, taking responsibility for
