Turkey re-elected President Erdoğan in the May 28th election, marking an intriguing experience for the country. The opposition politicians and citizens were confident in their potential victory, particularly in the first round. In the 2019 municipal elections, the Millet Alliance, led by the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Iyi Parti (İYİP), supported by the Democratic Party (DP) and the Felicity Party (SP), successfully won municipalities from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in major cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Adana, Mersin, and Antalya. This triumph served as a significant motivation for Erdoğan's opponents.Additionally, President Erdoğan exerted considerable effort to repeat the local elections in Istanbul, and in the subsequent election, the CHP candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu further increased his vote share and assumed the position of Istanbul's mayor. This outcome demonstrated the opposition's notable success under the umbrella of an alliance. Naturally, Erdoğan's opponents entered the general election under the Millet Alliance, leveraging the strength gained from the 2019 elections. However, the alliance system that proved effective in the local elections did not yield the same outcome in the general elections, resulting in Erdoğan securing his third term as the President of the Republic of Turkey.On the contrary, Erdoğan now faces a more challenging test: the economy. Despite presenting an electoral economic plan and making certain economic promises such as reducing unemployment, achieving a growth rate of 5.5%, raising the national income per capita to $16,000, and constructing favorable housing for earthquake victims, Erdoğan did not place significant emphasis on economic promises during his pre-election propaganda. While articles were written and leaflets were prepared on these matters, economic developments were not the focal point of Erdoğan's rallies or television programs. Instead, he primarily focused on accusing the opposition alliance of supporting terrorism. It remains uncertain whether this discourse resonated with the public, but it is evident that this was the primary issue Erdoğan emphasized throughout the campaign.While inflation and the devaluation of the Turkish lira are the most pressing issues in Turkey, the lack of emphasis on the economy Erdogan during the election process has raised concerns among economists. As mentioned in previous bulletins, the Turkish economy is grappling with high inflation, a depreciating currency, and a significant current account deficit. The proposed "Turkey Economy Model" and "Liraization" strategy, aimed at addressing these problems, have largely depleted the reserves of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), raising doubts about whether Erdogan will reconsider this model after the elections.Although the economy was not the central focus of Erdogan's campaign, discussions surrounding how to revive the economy and who would be entrusted with its management have dominated the post-election discourse. In this regard, the name Mehmet Simsek has emerged as a prominent figure. Before the elections, Erdogan held several meetings with Mehmet Simsek, and it was even announced to the press that these meetings were taking place. However, no significant developments on this matter were observed at that time.Mehmet Şimşek is widely recognized in the Western capital as a successful finance minister, particularly during the period when the Turkish economy was highly regarded in Europe. Together with Ali Babacan, he managed the Turkish economy during a time of prosperity. Simsek was named the finance minister of the year by Emerging Markets magazine in 2013 and was recognized as one of the 500 most influential people in the world by Foreign Policy magazine in the same year. However, the Turkish economy took a different direction with significant changes, particularly under Berat Albayrak, who is Erdogan's son-in-law.It appears that Erdogan intends to reappoint Mehmet Şimşek to oversee the economy in an attempt to return to the successful past. However, at the same time, Erdogan seems determined to maintain his belief that "interest rates are the cause of inflation."&nbsp;It remains uncertain whether there will be a return to orthodox economic policies or if a middle ground can be reached between Simsek and Erdogan. Only time will reveal whether Simsek's economic understanding and Erdogan's perspective on interest rates can work harmoniously.

The Freedom Observer

It remains uncertain whether there will be a return to orthodox economic policies or if a middle ground can be reached between Simsek and Erdogan. 

On the verge of economical discharge: Comeback era of M. Şimşek

• <a fr-original-style="" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-barack-obama-giorgia-meloni-italy-d6f78c3384994a174224087f242baf79" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Italy's Democratic Party</a> elected Elly Schlein to lead the country's opposition, a 37-year-old Italian-American who previously worked on former US President Barack Obama's two presidential campaigns. Schlein, who also became the first woman to lead the party, took an immediate swipe at PM Giorgia Meloni for her far-right anti-immigration policies, putting blame on her for Sunday's shipwreck deaths that killed dozens of migrants.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/1/1/1677526291577.png" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.34" width="550" alt="Elly Schlein" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">via Corriere

Aposto World

By <a fr-original-style="" href="https://link.apos.to/c/oYP1BiglItrj?c=5ecRMLmqzT551T-qBW0-w&sub=62b033905d379200061d8935&s=web" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Ekin Tümer</a>In her book explaining how populism transformed democracy, Me the People, political theorist Nadia Urbinati defines “people” as such: “In its modern configuration, the category of the people has three key meanings: (1) persona ficta, or the collective sovereign that acts as one, and in whose name laws are made and enforced; (2) the sociohistorical body that lives in a specific territory and is sometimes identified with the nation; and (3) the political collective or constituency that claims and achieves political agency through movements of opinions, parties, and representatives.”Populism can be defined as a set of political positions that emphasize a particular idea of "the people" and pits this group against "the elite" or, more simply, as "popular self-interest". Moreover, it is most pronounced in the third case when the people become a political subject which constitutes a field of competition for the rulers. Mario Tronti, a former member of the Senate of the Italian Republic from the Democratic Party, explains this by saying: "We have populism because there is no people."More than an idea, the people is always there, in all its tangibility. However, the populist leader doesn’t perceive the people as a polyphonic whole, but chooses the “part” of the public that reflects his ideology. The only people with whom the populist leader has a dialogue is the "right people" who support him under all circumstances, whom he makes dependent on him through unrealizable promises and intense, primitive emotions. Those who don’t conform to the “right people” are marginalized, and dispensable. Because they are the “wrong people”, who betrayed the leader in some way by stepping out of line. The leader tries to replace the people he finds wrong with the right people; he pits the two against each other with divisive words and actions when necessary. This is like dividing the people into teams for a kind of ethical/moral match. While the leader watches what is going on in his box seat, the people stop focusing on the root of the problems and compete to win, to be the "right people".The people, who should be treated as an inseparable whole, is divided into obedient "real" parts and questioning "unreal" parts. This is precisely what the populist leader wants, to find the ground on which he can fictionalize his own narrative of reality. In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt explains this in a striking way: “Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.” When the people is polarized, there is no longer a people, there are those who tell the truth and those who fabricate lies.A populist leader doesn’t like people “that acts as one” as established in the first definition of Urbinati. If there are no separated, decomposed parts, reality becomes unbendable. The leader's voice is drowned out by a powerful crowd that speaks a single truth, and cannot be silenced. In this case, the leader loses the power to soothe the people with excuses such as "it was such a disaster that no one could have overcome it" or simply, "it was fate". The people include everyone and they are empowered, so they have the right to demand accountability when those they empower fail to take responsibility. The people need to remember their right to do that.The state is not, and cannot be, by any definition, a shouty father figure at the top. Because this is against its nature. The purpose of the state's existence arises from the people’s demand to live freely, with equal rights in secure territories and to remain safe from harm. The state is not a person who can be hurt by the people’s dissatisfaction, nor is it a person to fear. The state is accountable to the people and doesn’t possess the luxury of not apologizing.The power of a people united in their demand for accountability exceeds the power of the populist leader, it frightens him. Today, there is a healthy anger that lies within the people's demand for accountability. Because what we are seeing now, we are seeing it completely bare: those who are failing to understand the extent of our anger, those who are failing to understand that this anger will not blow over in a year or two as it is demanded of us, those who are offended by our mourning, the hastily cleaned areas so the governing powers don’t have to see the damage, the men who lined children up for a press statement, the men who yanked down the hood of a freezing child’s coat so his face would show on the TV screen, the men pushing and shoving each other in a race to get in the frame, those who silenced the ones who were saying “No help came here”, those who cast a shadow over support efforts, those who displaced students at the first opportunity, those who tried to demolish the single-storey construction inspection building while the rubble has not yet been removed, those who detained earthquake victims, those who are occupied with cleaning criminal records…Unity of the real people who are forced to appease the frail and shameless hearts that are triggered by every reality, every insurgence, every life, who are threatened and pitted against each other if they don’t comply, who have very little left to lose, surpasses this system. This is exactly why we need to remember, there is no “right people” or “wrong people”, we are all the real and the only people, and we can stand as a grand, polyphonic voice.

Aposto Politics

How can we successfully become a “real” people?

Claiming anger

The Republic of Turkey, ruled by the AK Party-MHP coalition, is going through a period of chaos with the biggest economic, political, and social crises in its history. The only key out of this collapse process, in which inflation rates announced by the government exceed 80%, millions of irregular migrants pose a threat to social stability, rfar-right &nbsp;and racist movements are getting stronger. And citizens are unable to meet their basic needs like housing seems to be the general elections scheduled for 2023 (unless there is a snap election in the autumn). The AK Party, which has been in power since 2002, together with its ruling partner MHP, is waiting for the end of its political life and is unable to find solutions to the country's current crisis.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Opposition in the process of democracy alliance</h2>One of the most powerful strategies for changing the government and rebuilding the democratic regime in an electoral authoritarian system like Turkey, the opposition's ability to come together and form an alliance has been possible for some time now, due to the stable political agenda of the opposition alliance. Opposition allianc members are at different ends of the political spectrum, the CHP, the Democratic Party, the DEVA Party, the Future Party, the IYI Party, and the Felicity Party. But they are trying to build new politics around common values, ignoring their dissimilarities, at least for a while, with the cognition that this alliance is the only way to change the authoritarian regime and build a new regime that is firmly committed to the founding values of the democratic republic.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/5/1659099887790.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.79" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">BBC TurkishAlthough the opposition alliance claims to represent different ideologies and social components across the political spectrum, it has been doubtful since its inception to officially or unofficially include the Kurdish movement, one of the most powerful political movements in Turkey, and thus the HDP, in the alliance. The HDP has a remarkable place in Turkish politics with its 10-12% vote share and its power of representation among Kurdish voters. As Turkey is heading towards the most significant elections in its history, the 10-12% voting rate represented by the HDP is vital for the opposition alliance aiming to win the elections. In the 7 June 2015 elections, HDP passed the threshold and took away the AK Party's power to rule alone. The party maintains its critical place in Turkish politics for the 2023 elections.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Politics confined to the discourse of security and survival</h2>The AK Party-MHP coalition, which is either the creator or one of the causes of every crisis Turkey is currently experiencing, cannot solve any problem like every government that has completed its political life. But they conduct politics based on the management of perceptions to continue their existence. While creating a political atmosphere in which society has polarised around race, sect, and political views, every field of politics has securitized through the discourse of national security and survival, and the living spaces of different political views and opposing voices have narrowed systematically. The security discourse has been created through two terrorist organizations: FETÖ (Gülenist Terrorist Organization) and PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).In general terms, all opposition voices raised against the government are engraved as FETÖ members and excluded from the legal framework, while the HDP is identified with the PKK and isolated from both society and the political arena. In almost all political debates, pro-government journalists, People's Alliance deputies, and senior politicians labeled citizens who complain about the economy and opposition deputies as FETÖ members or "provocateurs fed by foreign powers." &nbsp;It's creating a political atmosphere in which neither political nor economic problems can be discussed in the public sphere and which is confined within the security discourse.The fact that the opposition alliance keeps its relations with the HDP at a minimum level despite its vital importance for winning the 2023 elections, and its open statements that no official alliance will be entered into, also fragments the opposition bloc as a barbed wire created by the securitized political atmosphere.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">A new vision for the opposition</h2>Selahattin Demirtaş said, "AKP is a structure that makes politics based on perceptions rather than facts. It uses this method more frequently and recklessly, especially during election periods. Even if the opposition produces so strong and concrete projects and fact-based politics, it cannot reach large masses without breaking the perceptions created by the AKP." Demirtaş clearly defines the AKP's politics based on perceptions.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/5/1659099952131.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.60" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">T24"HDP is not an extension, spokesperson, or supporter of the PKK. It has no ties with the PKK. We must be able to explain this to the Turkish public. A party conducting democratic politics cannot have ties with an armed organization.What I am saying for HDP is that it should endeavor to make its line more visible. A significant part of society lives in division fear, weapons, violence, and terror. The government is constantly scratching these fears and directing anger toward HDP. Therefore, the HDP has turned into a scapegoat."<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Concern about creating space for "doves"</h2>As I have mentioned before, Demirtaş's clear distancing between the HDP and the PKK not only tries to create a new space by freeing politics from security and survival discourses but also tries to disable the political strategy of the government based on perception management and polarization. The strategy of purging the HDP's moderate politicians, especially Demirtaş, from the political arena and sending them to prisons, while leaving the more radical and PKK sympathizers outside, has long been one of the main tactics of the current government to isolate the HDP politically and prevent a possible alliance between the opposition parties. With this discourse, Demirtaş is also concerned about breaking the political influence of the hawks within the HDP and creating more space for the doves."We have to convincingly explain that we do not have an agenda of division.""To get out of this bind, it would be appropriate for the HDP to give more messages of unity and peace, and to make its policies in this direction concrete and visible. If necessary, we have to convey that we will bring internal peace to the country several times a day, convey our policies that will permanently end violence, convincingly explain that we do not have an agenda of division, and bring the whole society together around the feelings of peace and brotherhood.""We should never use the language of anger because the attacks against us are intense and ruthless, and we should not be caught up in feelings of political revenge. Instead of saying, "They did this to us, they said that to us, so we will get tougher," we should resolutely resist on the democratic grounds of legitimate struggle."His words aim to bring a new discourse and paradigm to both Kurdish politics and the HDP. Recognizing that politics based on victimization and revenge for the past does not bring any benefit to Turkey, the perception that all our problems can only be solved through the construction of a democratic regime brings both voters and opposition parties a concrete answer to the question of which foundations the new Turkey will be built.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Is it possible to form an inclusive alliance among the opposition parties?</h2>The opposition alliance, which have established with the aim of transition to a strengthened parliamentary system and the reconstruction of a democratic regime, stands as the only option to change the authoritarian regime created by the AK Party-MHP coalition. Although there is an ever-increasing success rate in the surveys and in determining the political agenda, two significant issues seem to regulate the fate of both the alliance and the elections: The joint candidate and the alliance with the HDP.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/5/1659099993256.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.79" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">T24Although there are various speculations about the joint candidate, there is still no certainty. The only fact we know is that "a person who will cover all segments of the society and who understands the economy" will be the candidate as described by CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. But how inclusive will this joint candidate be? For example, will he also represent the HDP? Demirtaş makes the following statement about the joint candidate:"Our Co-Chairs have repeatedly given the message that we are open to the idea of a joint candidate. It is the official policy of the party and we will insist on a joint candidate until the last moment. If not, HDP will enter the elections with its candidate. What else can we do?The opinions and suggestions of not only the HDP but also left parties outside the parliament, professional chambers, trade unions, women's organizations, bar associations, and environmental organizations should be taken into consideration so that the joint candidate can be the joint candidate of the society."Of course, for the opposition alliance and the HDP to field a joint presidential candidate, an alliance must first be formed. To prevent this scenario, which is its biggest fear, the People's Alliance is putting all its trump cards on the field. Both the fact that the conservative-right-leaning parties within the opposition alliance do not favor such an alliance because they think that it would cost them votes and the systematic criminalization of the HDP lead to the conclusion that such an alliance is not possible in the short term.Selahattin Demirtaş also said, "Under the current conditions, institutional cooperation between the table of six (opposition allinace) and the HDP-centred opposition does not seem likely. The main reason for it is the perceptions produced by the AKP and the failure of the opposition to respond to these perceptions with a bold move for change. Of course, the opposition alliance is not solely responsible for this. The HDP also has shortcomings and responsibilities. It does no one any good to stick the needle into everyone without first sticking the needle into ourselves," he blames the failure to establish the alliance on the AK Party, not the opposition, and creates an opportunity for HDP to self-criticize.In particular, the sympathies of radical figures within the HDP towards the PKK and their rejection of the party's Turkeyification (party's moving away from particular focus on Kurdish ethnic nationalism) strategy constitute a fundamental obstacle to the alliance between the opposition alliance and the HDP. Demirtaş's statement "let's stick the needle in ourselves first" is an open call to the party to liquidate the radical figures within the HDP or to withdraw politically. Such a restructuring process within the HDP will also prepare a powerful ground for the collapse of the AK Party's strategy of perceptions.HDP has to break down all legal or illegal ties with the terrorist organization, which has inflicted wounds on Turkish society that are very difficult to close and cost the lives of thousands of people. And the silencing of all voices within the party can be called PKK propaganda, the HDP needs to adopt a political approach that can embrace all segments of society and open up space for a possible alliance with opposition parties.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">The opposition has a more difficult task than winning the election</h2>"Wherever we expect respect for our sensitivities, we have to show the necessary respect for the sensitivities of others.If we expect a Kurdish opening from the other opposition, we, as HDP, need to make a Turkish opening. We need to embrace all of Turkey with self-confidence, without letting our victim identity lead us into a psychology of oppression or anger.If the opposition continues to surrender to perceptions despite our correct moves, we will have the right to stick them with the stick then."Demirtaş's discourse on Turkeyification offers a new road map for the opposition parties for the construction of a democratic and inclusive regime. Evaluating different segments of society, especially Kurdish voters, only based on vote rates may help to win the elections. But it will not contribute to the construction of a democratic and inclusive regime. Moving politics away from the discourses of survival and security, discussing all social and political issues in the public sphere, and building a political understanding in which society's all segments will be represented is a more difficult and significant task for the opposition than winning the elections. The opposition, which claims to undertake this historic task, needs to build a new politics by breaking stereotyped fears and prejudices. We are hoping for a new Turkey where doves will prevail over hawks in society and politics.

Spektrum

With his rhetoric, former HDP leader Demirtaş opens space for both the opposition and the "doves" in his party.

Doves fighting with hawks

• <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korean-conservative-opposition-candidate-yoon-elected-president-2022-03-09/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Yoon Suk-yeol,</a> from South Korea's main opposition People Power Party, was elected as the new president in a close-fought race. The 60-year-old conservative president-elect succeeded the ruling Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myunh with 48.6% of the vote to 47.8%.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/2/3/1646869889777.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.50" width="550" alt="Yoon Suk-yeol" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Chung Sung-Jun | Getty

• <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-22/biden-keeps-powell-as-fed-chief-elevates-brainard-to-vice-chair" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell</a> has been re-nominated for a second four-year term by President Joe Biden. Lael Brainard, the other top candidate for the job, has been nominated as vice-chairman. Both names will have to be confirmed by the Democratic Party-controlled Senate.<ul fr-original-style="padding-inline-start: 20px;" style="padding-inline-start: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; list-style-position: inside; box-sizing: border-box;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Markets wrap: The S&amp;P 500 hit a record high after Joe Biden re-nominated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lead the central bank for a second term, with Wall Street rallying on the prospect of interest rate hikes in 2022.</li></ul>

Democratic Party ile ilgili hikayeler