Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that tension with Europe was due to European domestic politics and relations with Berlin would improve after Germany’s parliamentary election in September.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Aug. 12 that tension with Europe was due to European domestic politics and relations with Berlin would improve after Germany's parliamentary election in September.
   
"Criticism from Europe is about their internal politics," Erdoğan said in a speech in the western city of Isparta that was broadcast live on television.
   

President Tayyip Erdoğan effectively started his campaign for re-election in November 2019 with a series of speeches on Aug. 7-9 in the Black Sea cities of Rize, Trabzon and Giresun.

From his speeches, it can be understood that he is considering his campaign strategy in three phases:

"When the new lists are going to be announced," Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan told local executives of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Aug. 7 in the Black sea province of Trabzon. "No one should tell us 'Where did you find this thief?' about them. We must be very careful about this issue," he said. 

Turkey has been at odds with its biggest military ally the U.S. for some time over Washington's selection for a partner in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), or DAESH in Arabic initials. 

Addressing his Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) branch members in his Black Sea hometown of Rize on Aug. 7, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said the 2019 elections will be "difficult" and stressed that the party organization should work even harder.

In an unexpected move, President Tayyip Erdoğan slammed Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) on Aug. 5. He said it had been late in detecting black holes and loops in the system, thus letting "others" sneak in "especially in the east and southeast of the country."

Turkey on Wednesday replaced the commanders of its army, air force and navy after their terms in office expired, reshuffling the top of a military that has been shaken by last year’s failed coup.

The executive committee of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is scheduled to have an emergency meeting in Istanbul on Aug. 1 at the foreign ministers level. They are due to discuss the recent al-Aksa Mosque tension with Israel, following a call by Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan.

A number of developments in the last few days, mostly moves by President Tayyip Erdoğan, might be signs that he has something big in mind at the planning stage.