Top News After the mayor of the main cities lost to the opposition this year, such as the capital Ankara and the largest Turkish city of Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces a new challenge: old allies seeking to split from the AK Party and establish their own parties.
It seems that the holy union around the Turkish president has begun to crack, as the unprecedented steps of former Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu and former economy minister Ali Babacan have shown. In recent weeks, both have criticized Turkey's tendencies under Erdogan's administration. These statements gave credence to rumors that continue to escalate, pointing to the intention of Davutoglu and Babajan, two key figures surrounding Erdogan, to form their own parties to challenge the ruling AK Party 17 years ago.
Babacan made the first move on July 8, when Babacan, who is widely respected in the economic community and credited with the AKP's economic success in the first decade of his rule, announced his resignation from the party, taking the "sacrifice" of principles and referring to the need For a "new vision" for Turkey.
With inflation in Turkey at 15.7 percent, deflation 2.6 percent in the first quarter of 2019 and unemployment of 13 percent, many Turks see Babacan as the man capable of finding solutions to the country's problems. They see it as the right alternative for Erdogan, whose term expires in 2023 .
Ten days after Babacan's announcement, Daoudoglu emerged from his usual silence and interviewed for more than three hours on social networking sites, hinting that he was also ready to form a new party.
But Erdogan has played down the threat posed by the two men, while experts say he will not stand idly by in defections.
According to Leslie Hintz of Johns Hopkins University, Erdogan "may fight everything he sees as a threat to the hegemony he embodies." To support her opinion, Hintz recalls examples of the detention of Kurdish leader Saladin Demirtash since 2016, who is strongly opposed to Erdogan, as well as the ongoing trials of civil society figures and opponents of the Justice and Development Party.
When he stepped down as prime minister in 2016, nearly two years after he took office, Davutoglu vowed not to criticize Erdogan publicly. But his lengthy interview showed that he would not be silent about what he saw as shortcomings in justice and development. But Davodoglu, a divided figure, is far from certain that other members of the AKP will be dragged if he chooses to form a new party. On the other hand, according to the Turkish media, Babacan could already support the support of another prominent AKP figure, former President Abdullah Gul, to form a dissident faction. During an interview, Erdogan expressed displeasure with the projects of his former comrades. "If we are not disappointed, then who will be disappointed?" He said.
A prominent figure in Erdogan's party and former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
But Hintz believes the success of a party founded by Babacan "probably depends on how well he can deliver concrete plans to address economic problems and social inequalities." She believes that Babacan has "an opportunity to mobilize the center-right of Turkey, especially relying on general discontent with the personal enrichment of AKP leaders while the Turkish economy is plunged into crisis."
Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party won all the elections since 2002. But in the last municipal elections, Erdogan and his party, Istanbul, lost the heart of the Turkish economy, such as the capital Ankara and other major cities. Despite these setbacks, Erdoğan has a loyal base, especially in the provinces far from the center, according to Emre Erdogan of Istanbul's Bilgi University. In the opinion of the researcher that the emergence of a dissident figure of the AK Party as a new opponent may have a "destructive" impact of Erdogan in the upcoming elections in 2023, knowing that the candidate for the presidency to get more than 50% of the vote to win.
HAI / AFP (AFP)
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Beginning of the story
On July 25, Turkey announced the status of US Rev. Andrew Brunson under house arrest after being jailed for two years in what Turkey said was a case of "terrorism" and "espionage." The United States demanded his immediate release and on August 1, In August, to impose sanctions for the first time on officials of NATO's ally, Justice Minister Abdulhamid Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Suwailo against the backdrop of Branson's detention.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Trump: "Lira is falling apart against our strong dollar"
On August 10, 2108, Trump announced a doubling of duties on US imports of iron and aluminum from Turkey. "I have ordered the doubling of steel and aluminum fees on Turkey, at a time when the lira is collapsing against our very strong dollar, the aluminum tax will rise 20 percent while steel will rise 50 percent," Trump said on Twitter.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Erdogan receives a "stab in the back" .. and prepares for the next
The Turkish lira fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 2001, reaching more than 6 lira against the dollar on Sunday, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded that "the United States is trying to stab Turkey in the back," while the Turkish Central Bank That he was ready to take "all necessary measures" to ensure financial stability.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Washington – Ankara begins with Fathullah Gulen
The recent diplomatic row is the culmination of a series of disagreements over a number of important issues that have yet to be resolved between Ankara and Washington. Turkey accuses Rev. Brunson of supporting two terrorist organizations, the Fathullah Gulen and the PKK, which Ankara classifies as an organization. While Washington refuses to extradite Gulen, who lives in America, to the Turkish authorities.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Washington supports the Kurds of Syria .. "Terrorists" in the eyes of Turkey!
Washington has not been comfortable with the coordination between Turkey, Russia and Iran in Astana to reduce the escalation in certain areas in Syria, nor is it comfortable with the great rapprochement between Moscow and Ankara in vital areas such as energy projects and Turkey's purchase of Russian weapons.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Turkish media accuses Washington of participating in the coup
In addition, some Turkish media accuse US intelligence that they were behind the failed coup attempt on Erdogan, and that the Incirlik air base, based in Turkey and belonging to NATO, was the center of planning for the coup.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Apart from politics, the crisis has economic roots as well
Apart from the political reasons, there are several factors that contributed to the devaluation of the Turkish currency and the emergence of the economic crisis facing Turkey currently, as investors are concerned about the inability of Turkish companies to pay loans taken in hard currency during the period of the eruption of real estate and large construction projects.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Turkish actions to save the situation
To stop this deterioration, the Central Bank of Turkey has taken a series of measures to support financial stability. The Turkish Minister of Finance and Finance, Erdoğan's brother-in-law, said that the ministry has started to implement its plan of action to counter the fluctuations of the Turkish lira against the dollar.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Erdogan: "They have the dollar and we have God"
Erdogan threatened to resort to plans and other measures such as "a plan for traders and industry if they continue to rush to sell the Turkish lira and buy the US dollar." He said earlier: "If the West owns the dollar we have God."
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Washington is watching .. Ankara's consensus
The White House confirms that the Trump administration is monitoring the financial situation in Turkey "closely" and that the sanctions alone could not lead to this collapse if there was no defect from the beginning, while the US national security adviser John Bolton met Turkish ambassador to the United States to discuss the issue Reverend Andrew Branson was detained by Ankara.
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Turkish Lira Crisis
Merkel: "We do not want the collapse of Turkey's economy"
Commenting on what is happening, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "destabilizing the Turkish economy is not in the interest of any party," stressing the importance of the independence of the Central Bank of Turkey to contribute effectively in dealing with the current situation.
