Political parties

The US Embassy in Ankara warned Americans in the country "of possible imminent retaliatory terrorist attacks against churches, synagogues and diplomatic missions in Istanbul or other places frequented by citizens of Western countries".

The political dispute between the government and the official opposition is shaping up as a clash between action and identity, between management and accusations, between reality and fairy tales. Common to both sides are their cynicism and the hyperbole with which they attack each other.

What is Europe? "Isn't it the plains? […] Are not her stars the bright ones?" as Greek poet Ioannis Polemis said in his famous poem about the homeland. And what does "We're staying in Europe" mean? Is it a saga for our times and our abilities? Will it become a date, like that of the 1973 Polytechnic Uprising, to honor for ever?

The leaders of the six oppositional parties held their 11th meeting on Jan. 26 to start deliberations for choosing a joint presidential candidate to race against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the mid-May polls.

Elsewhere, Pesti TV, an aggressively right-wing television station intended for young viewers, was also closed during the summer.

A parliamentary commission has approved a constitutional amendment package tabled by the ruling alliance that stipulates lifting restrictions against women wearing headscarf in public and private spaces, and strengthening the family structure.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) has harshly slammed Swedish authorities for allowing and just watching the burning of Quran by an ultra-right wing politician in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) should be closed without delay the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli said on Jan. 24 criticizing the Constitutional Court (AYM) for its planned meeting to discuss delaying the closure case until after the elections.

The intention of the government and the opposition to prevent convicted neo-Nazi Ilias Kasidiaris from taking a fresh run at Parliament with his new party is obvious. I don't know if it will work, though, because history has shown that such efforts rarely have the desired effect and those being barred can simply bypass the system by forming a new party.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev arrives for two-day EU Council meeting in Brussels 20 October 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

Snap elections will take place in late March or early April.