I have no intention of targeting Mehmet Şimşek, the Minister of Treasury and Finance. Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members are already doing that enough. Despite the defeat in the March 31 elections, they act as if President Tayyip Erdoğan wasn’t the sole decision-maker and they had done everything right, still claiming, “If we
The Central Bank of Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) which sold foreign currency from its reserves to prevent the US dollar from appreciating further against the Turkish lira (TL) before the March 31 elections, is now buying US dollars from the market to prevent the TL from appreciating too much against the dollar. According to Central
The Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court handed down heavy sentences in the Kobani Trial on May 16. The most notable were the 42-year sentence for Selahattin Demirtaş and the 30-year sentence for Figen Yüksekdağ, both of whom were co-chairs of the HDP at the time. Their sentences were the natural headline in media. Like the
I generally view with skepticism the memorandums of understanding signed between countries. Often, they possess a seriousness just slightly beyond mere intent declarations: they do not bind the parties, are laden with political messages, and frequently signify little more than “we had a written outcome from our discussions.” Especially during presidential-level visits, if you look
An Ankara court has sentenced former Democratic People’s Party (HDP) co-leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ to decades in prison in total in the Kobani Case, where 108 people are being tried for terror charges, including “disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state.” Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court sentenced Selahattin Demirtaş to 20
A few hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Hamas is “defending Anatolia’s frontline” in Gaza in Turkish parliament on May 15, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan appeared on a live NTV broadcast. Erdoğan grounded his assertion of “frontline defense” on the assumption that the radical government in power in Israil would eventually cast its
The phrase “Fascism does not prevent speech, it compels speech” belongs to French philosopher Roland Barthes. Whether out of genuine necessity or strategic maneuvering, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s recent remarks, stating that “he smells coup plot” by linking the ongoing Ayhan Bora Kaplan gang investigation by the Ministry of Interior on
Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, finally unveiled long-awaited austerity measures in the public sector on May 13, under the watchful eye of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz. Both underscored that these measures were meticulously crafted with the directive and approval of President Tayyip Erdoğan. Following the announcement, neither Yılmaz nor Şimşek take questions from
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Türkiye’s deadliest mining disaster in Soma, Manisa, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel paid homage to the victims and their families. Emphasizing the need for justice, Özel urged for a retrial to unveil all responsible parties, asserting that true justice for Soma remains elusive until every
In a bid to curb surging inflation and restore fiscal discipline, Türkish Finance Ministry unveiled an extensive savings plan aimed at reining in public spending. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek announced a new “Public Savings Plan” on May 13 at a joint briefing. The savings plan comes as Türkiye