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TURKEY-POLITICS WRAP
Erdogan takes on greater powers in Turkey’s new era
ANKARA, July 9, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to be
sworn in for his second term as head of state on Monday, taking on greater
powers than any Turkish leader for decades under a new system condemned by
opponents as a one man regime.
Erdogan, who has transformed Turkey in 15 years of rule by allowing Islam a
greater role in public life and boosting its international stature, will take
his oath almost two years after defeating a bloody attempted coup.
The inauguration in parliament after Erdogan’s June election victory will
be followed by a lavish ceremony at his palace attended by dozens of world
leaders marking the transition to the new executive presidency system.
Erdogan will face immediate and major challenges posed by an imbalanced if
fast-growing economy and foreign policy tensions between the West and Turkey,
a NATO member.
He has also pledged to end the state of emergency that has been in place
since the failed July 2016 coup and which has seen the biggest purge in the
history of modern Turkey.
In what appeared to be the final emergency decree issued just one day
before the inauguration, 18,632 public sector employees were ordered
dismissed including thousands of soldiers and police officers.
After the inauguration, Erdogan will immediately turn to foreign policy,
visiting northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan followed by more challenging
encounters at a NATO summit in Brussels where he will meet US counterpart
Donald Trump and other leaders.
– ‘One-man regime’ –
The new system was agreed in a bitterly fought 2017 referendum narrowly won
by the ‘Yes’ camp. The issue still polarises Turkey.
“A partisan one-man regime starts officially today,” said the opposition
Cumhuriyet newspaper.
Its commentator Asli Aydintasbas wrote: “I don’t think it would be an
exaggeration to say that we entered a ‘second republic’ era,” after the
republic set up by Turkey’s secular founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
MORE/FI/ 1726 hrs
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But the pro-government daily Yeni Safak wrote under the headline “historic
day”: “One page is closing in Turkish history and a new page is opening.”
The president will sit at the top of a vertical power structure marked by a
slimmed-down government with 16 ministries instead of 26 and multiple bodies
reporting to him.
In one of the most significant changes, the EU affairs ministry, set up in
2011 to oversee Turkey’s faltering bid to join the bloc, will be subsumed
into the foreign ministry.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will on Monday go down in history as the
27th and final holder of the post in Turkey. He is expected to become speaker
of the new parliament.
– ‘Leader of multi-polar world’ – The grand transition ceremony, to be
attended by some 10,000 guests and marked by dozens of gun salutes, has been
overshadowed by a deadly train derailment in northwest Turkey on Sunday that
left 24 dead.
Those attending will include Ankara’s top allies from Africa, the Middle
East and the former Soviet Union but relatively few European figures.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will attend, in a new sign of the
warm ties between Ankara and Moscow, as will Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro, regarded with disdain by Washington but an ally of Erdogan.
Tweeting a video apparently showing himself driving to the airport, Maduro
hailed Erdogan as a “friend of Venezuela and leader of the new multi-polar
world.”
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir is on the guest list as is Emir Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, Turkey’s closest ally in the Middle East.
The only EU leaders are set to be Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and
Hungary’s strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
– ‘Surprise cabinet’ –
The new cabinet, due to be announced at 1830 GMT, is expected to have a
different look, with pro-government Hurriyet daily columnist Abdulkadir Selvi
saying that it was set to “surprise” with figures from outside the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Current Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu could in theory continue in his
job but reports have said Erdogan may choose his spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, or
even spy chief Hakan Fidan to succeed him. The markets will keep a close eye
on economic appointments, keen to see a steady hand at the helm in a fast-
growing economy dogged by double-digit inflation and a widening current
account deficit.
Erdogan, who first came to power as premier in 2003, won an outright
victory in June 24 polls, defeating his closest rival, Muharrem Ince of the
main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) which is now locked in
internal battles over its future direction.
The AKP failed to win a majority in legislative elections and will need
support from its allies in the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
who could push it into more hardline policies.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1727 hrs