This week
Domestic Politics
- Turkey’s ruling AKP mulls its road map for the post-election era
- Opposition parties may cooperate in the presidentials: CHP leader
- Corruption claims had no effect on local polls: Research
- Turkey’s opposition should rediscover its strengths
- Turkey lifts Twitter ban after court ruling
- Turkey’s Kurdish peace process key to Erdogan’s presidential hopes
Foreign Policy
- Turkey’s image hurt by graft claims: US envoy
- Turkey, US dismiss Seymour Hersh report
- Erdogan takes battle with enemies beyond Turkish frontiers
- Google Appeals Turkey YouTube Blackout
Economy & Energy
- Fitch cuts Turkey growth forecasts for 2014, 2015
- Banking share optimism boosts March foreign investor purchases in Borsa Istanbul
- Turkish Central Bank will decide itself on any rate cuts: Governor
- Turkey’s Erdogan calls for rate cut, says no early election
Domestic Politics
Turkey’s ruling AKP mulls its road map for the post-election era
Having achieved a clear success in the key local polls, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has already started to ponder its road map in the new term, prioritizing an amendment to the law on the national spy agency and the establishment of a parliamentary commission to investigate corruption claims over four former ministers.
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Hurriyet Daily News, 1 April 2014, Turkey’s ruling AKP mulls its road map for the post-election era
Opposition parties may cooperate in the presidential: CHP leader
Opposition parties may cooperate in the upcoming presidential elections by agreeing on nominating a single candidate that would embrace all segments of the society and would represent Turkey abroad, the leader of the main opposition has said.
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Hurriyet Daily News, 2 April 2014, Opposition parties may cooperate in the presidentials: CHP leader
Corruption claims had no effect on local polls: Research
Corruption and graft claims engulfing senior government figures had little effect on voters’ choices in March 30’s local polls, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was more important in swaying votes than the party, new research has shown.
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Hurriyet Daily News, 2 Aprile 2014, Corruption claims had no effect on local polls: Research
Turkey’s opposition should rediscover its strengths
The destructive style of politics we have seen in recent months must end, writes Kemal Dervis
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Financial Times, 1 April 2014, Turkey’s opposition should rediscover its strengths
Turkey lifts Twitter ban after court ruling
Turkey’s telecoms authority lifted a two-week-old ban on Twitter on Thursday after the constitutional court ruled the block breached freedom of expression, an official in Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s office said.
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Reuters, 3 April 2014, Turkey lifts Twitter ban after court ruling
Turkey’s Kurdish peace process key to Erdogan’s presidential hopes
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will be banking on Kurdish support if he bids for Turkey’s presidency in an August election and is likely to use his party’s strong showing in local polls as a mandate to advance peace talks with Kurdish militants.
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Reuters, 3 April 2014, Turkey’s Kurdish peace process key to Erdogan’s presidential hopes
Foreign Policy
Turkey’s image hurt by graft claims: US envoy
Recent allegations of corruption about high-profile officials from the Turkish government have “really hurt the brand of Turkey,” U.S. Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone has told daily Hürriyet in an exclusive interview.
Hurriyet Daily News, 7 April 2014, Turkey’s image hurt by graft claims: US envoy
Turkey, US dismiss Seymour Hersh report
The Turkish government has strictly ruled out Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh’s claims that Ankara was behind the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria, while particularly referring to an earlier statement of denial on the issue by the White House.
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Hurriyet Daily news, 7 April 2014, Turkey, US dismiss Seymour Hersh report
Erdogan takes battle with enemies beyond Turkish frontiers
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s battle to root out the “terrorists” he says are embedded in the Turkish state is extending beyond its frontiers to Africa and Asia, further complicating foreign policy already hit by tensions with the Arab world and Western allies.
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Reuters, 4 April 2014, Erdogan takes battle with enemies beyond Turkish frontiers
Google Appeals Turkey YouTube Blackout
On Monday, Google Inc. announced it is seeking to appeal Turkey’s blackout of its YouTube online video service in the country’s courts, joining a series of petitions that have raised legal pressure on the week-and-a-half-long ban.
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Wall Street Journal, 7 April, Google Appeals Turkey YouTube Blackout
Economy & Energy
Fitch cuts Turkey growth forecasts for 2014, 2015
Ratings agency Fitch cut its growth forecasts for Turkey on Friday, citing slower domestic lending growth and signs that consumer and investor confidence are moderating. It now sees the economy expanding by 2.5 percent in 2014, compared with a previous estimate of 3.2 percent, and by 3.2 percent rather than 3.8 percent next year.
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Reuters, 4 April 2014, Fitch cuts Turkey growth forecasts for 2014, 2015
Reuters, 4 April 2014, Fitch Affirms Turkey at ‘BBB-‘; Outlook Stable
Banking share optimism boosts March foreign investor purchases in Borsa Istanbul
Attracted by banking shares, foreign investors made net purchases worth almost of $680 million in Borsa Istanbul throughout March, and almost made up the total 2013 sales amount with total net purchases in just two months.
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Hurriyet Daily News, 7 April 2014,
Turkish Central Bank will decide itself on any rate cuts: Governor
The Turkish Central Bank governor responded to the prime minister’s call for an urgent interest rate cut, saying the bank would decide for itself on a possible cut that “should be reasonable, measured, and well-timed.“
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Hurriyet Daily News, 7 April 2014, Turkish Central Bank will decide itself on any rate cuts: Governor
Turkey’s Erdogan calls for rate cut, says no early election
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called for an emergency interest rate cut, ruled out early elections and spoke against the lifting of a Twitter ban on Friday, signalling no let-up in his domineering style ahead of an expected run for president.
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Reuters, 4 April 2014, Turkey’s Erdogan calls for rate cut, says no early election
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