Turkish opposition’s hard polemic addiction

Does the opposition, which eagerly blames economic challenges on the presidential system, have a common policy that goes beyond unveiling a handful of shared principles?

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Turkish opposition s hard polemic addiction
Political murders' What is this all about in Turkey

'Political murders': What is this all about in Turkey?

By all indications, 2022 will be a year full of intense arguments and discussions.

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CHP and the IP may face two problems at once. Failure to talk about autonomy or native-language education would get them stuck between Erdoğan’s Diyarbakır address and the HDP’s demands. Discussing the problems with the reconciliation process would put the CHP and the IP, not the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), in a difficult position.

The main question surrounding the 2023 elections in Turkey is whether the candidates or the principles will prove more important

Ankara decided to decrease the electoral threshold from 10% to 7%

The opposition, which accuses Erdoğan of collaborating with the U.S. on the issue of Afghan refugees, is trying to give Erdoğan lessons in anti-imperialism. It is ridiculous to criticize a leader who has consistently shown a clear and strong stance against imperialism for many years

Turkish opposition’s problem with candidate image

The opposition in Turkey is looking for a presidential candidate for the 2023 elections. Yet they still face the same old dilemma: Bringing together political parties with contradicting ideologies

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Turkish opposition s problem with candidate image
How to discuss the Syrian Afghan migrant issue

How to discuss the Syrian, Afghan migrant issue

Turkey, which assumed more responsibility than any other nation when it comes to asylum-seekers, is compelled to engage that question very actively.

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The leader of Turkey's main opposition party continues to make unrealistic statements about Syrian refugees. CHP's leader, who has frequently come forward with racist and xenophobic statements, now promises to send Syrian refugees back to their country

Turkey just entered a period of renewed debate on the Kurdish question, when the way we talk about that issue, too, will be the subject of discussion.

One of the biggest impasses of the Turkish opposition is that it has no plans for the administration, despite its constant efforts to overthrow Erdoğan. At this rate, the opposition will not be able to put a strong candidate against Erdoğan in the 2023 elections

Zülfü Livaneli, a leftist intellectual, recently revealed the dilemmas of the Turkish 'left' and claimed that the CHP is not actually a leftist party. It is a mystery why the debate over the former leader of the main opposition did not come to the current party chairperson

The Turkish opposition’s xenophobic approach towards Qatari investors is the pure reflection of their hostility against the government

Turkey’s opposition parties are locked in a competition with each other to generate the harshest political rhetoric possible as they attempt to block Kanal Istanbul, a megaproject set to create an artificial waterway between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea.

For the record, it is not yet clear which political parties will contest the next election as part of the Nation Alliance. Potential changes to Turkey’s electoral system, too, may tilt the balance of power.

The backlash over U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement on the so-called Armenian 'genocide' continues. Deeming the Turkish government’s reaction insufficient, opposition leaders argued that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lacked 'the courage to hang up on Biden.' Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Good Party (IP) leader Meral Akşener eagerly attacked the government much more fiercely than they reacted to the White House statement. Turkey’s contemporary foreign policy, they said, was actually responsible for what happened.

One thing is clear: The relationship between Ankara and Washington gradually evolve from the constraints of a traditional alliance. A new modus operandi emerges, which brings together adversity, competition and cooperation.

The opposition elites, by contrast, cannot rid themselves of "othering" – secularist fanaticism. They are certainly miles away from having the kind of self-confidence needed to govern a country like Turkey.

The democratic reaction to the coup-implied declaration by 104 retired admirals is crashing down like an avalanche. Writing the declaration in refined language does not eliminate the message.

Obviously, democracy requires political parties to change their views in order to find a middle ground. Temporarily suppressing one’s real views to unite around “negative politics” (opposing everything) is not a healthy attitude for the culture of democracy.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is committed to a “new and civilian” constitution. In a recent parliamentary meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party), he urged the country’s political leaders to work toward establishing “a civilian constitution instead of the constitution of coup plotters,” to mark the centennial of the Republic of Turkey.