If we forget COVID-19 outbreak...
Sooner or later life will return to normal, but that shouldn't mean forgetting coronavirus lessons
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Is a new electoral alliance in the making under Meral Akşener?
Recent remarks by Good Party Chairwoman Meral Akşener about the links between the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the PKK terrorist organization has sparked fresh controversy about the future of electoral alliances in Turkish politics. Recalling the HDP’s inability to distance itself from terrorists, she carved herself out some room to maneuver and revived questions about the possibility of a third electoral alliance emerging in the future.
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With allegations of a coup d’etat in the making and claims of an early election in the works, there is increased activity in Turkey’s national political arena, as rumors circulate around competing electoral alliances.
What went wrong in the U.S. handling of the COVID-19 crisis? This will be one of the most significant questions waiting to be answered in the next few years. Not only U.S. residents but also people around the world watching the U.S. becoming one of the epicenters of the outbreak want to know the answer to this question.
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean may have de-escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Libyan crisis continues to deepen. ExxonMobil, Total and ENI stopped drilling in blocks 6 and 10 due to dropping oil prices. That decision could contribute to the Turkish solution as Ankara offered to dispatch its navy and three drilling vessels to the Eastern Mediterranean for a fair distribution of local hydrocarbon reserves.
It has become increasingly clear that the post-COVID-19 world will set the stage for fierce competition. The pandemic’s negative economic impact, rather than the outbreak itself, will trigger fresh crises. After all, the world’s leading nations, which could not join forces against the coronavirus, cannot seem to manage the resulting economic crisis either. They stick to largely national responses against a global problem.
Turkish foreign policy during pandemic period
Turkey has been following a two-track foreign policy for the last two decades. On the one hand, Turkey has been following an Ankara-centered and relatively independent foreign policy. After the collapse of the bipolar world, Turkey, similar to many other countries, has been trying to increase autonomy in its foreign policy.
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Coup discourse and CHP's intentions
We have moved to the second stage in the fight against COVID-19. This stage, which Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has dubbed "controlled social life," is not a return to normal. "The rules of the new normal" are being created in consideration of the possibility of a second wave of infections.
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In the last couple of weeks, significant developments have been happening in the Libyan civil war. The Government of National Accord (GNA) and militia forces loyal to the GNA made remarkable military progress in their offensive in the western part of the nation's capital, Tripoli. Armed drones provided by Turkey conducted effective attacks against Haftar forces. Those drone attacks played critical roles in the GNA's military advances in those areas of the country. The GNA also increased its attacks to take back the Watiya Air Base from Haftar's militia.
Last week this column addressed how the coronavirus can change the debates and domestic dynamics of the U.S. elections. The crisis management and leadership in handling the outbreak, the economy – in particular, unemployment rates – and the state of the health care sector in the U.S. were cited as potential issues that may arise or be amplified as a result of the pandemic.
If the coronavirus crisis were not at the top of the public agenda, today the most significant topic would be the U.S. presidential elections, with President Donald Trump having actually launched his campaign even before the outbreak.
The Donald Trump administration insists on offloading blame for the COVID-19 pandemic on China.
