In this new century of Turkey, never forget the patriotism of Adana, home of the 100m kebab, and mobster Sedat Pekar, who warned us about the Mersin cocaine pipeline and used legitimate income to buy this Atatürk ad in Times Square.
On the menu this week:
Erdoğan’s real anniversary speech
Controversial centennial celebrations
Turkish judiciary under scrutiny
Student death sparks protests
Sweden NATO vote still not on the agenda
CB backs away from unorthodox regulations
Dog bey afternoon
And don’t miss Ingrid Woudwijk and Onur Hasip’s coverage of Erdoğan’s Palestine rally as well as Eray Görgülü’s preview of the CHP congress.
A lot is happening. So, for a change of pace, I’m going to review developments as they were laid out in Pres. Erdoğan’s speech Tuesday.
Unlike Saturday’s fiery Palestine rally speech or Sunday’s chilly Republic Day speech, this address laid out the ruling party’s tepid calculations for the present and future, making it Erdoğan’s real centennial speech, in my view.
On Turkey’s Centennial
After opening formalities and praise for the defense sector, Erdoğan cited an Atatürk quote: "Stop praising me, tell me what we will do for the future."
He then used the CHP’s own icon to bash the party so thoroughly that us journalists could hear campaign songs for March 2024 elections echoing in our minds.
Blaming the opposition for a century’s worth of problems, from coups to infringements on personal rights, Erdoğan accused “wardrobe Kemalists” of a “fascist mentality” that condemned Turkey “to second-class democracy and second-class economy for years.”
He added they don’t want to “make peace with the nation” and continue to “vent their hatred” towards the national will. In contrast, he said the AKP serves and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with that national will.
On the Israel-Hamas War
Then Erdoğan shifted to the ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine. He didn’t make new statements here apart from condemning an attack on the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship hospital Monday, which he blamed on Israeli forces.
As Gaza’s sole cancer treatment center, the hospital shuttered Wednesday due to lack of fuel. This comes amid ongoing pro-Palestine protests in Turkey, some of which target Starbucks locations both peacefully and violently. There was also at least one incident at a Burger King.
The public retaliation, along with Erdoğan’s increasingly forceful condemnation of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, have now sparked responses of their own.
These include anger from Israel’s energy minister, boycotts from Israeli supermarkets, and this letter from US Congress members calling on Ankara to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and close its offices in Turkey. Separately, the US Treasury applied a new round of sanctions on Hamas-affiliated companies, one of which was in Turkey, though it has denied accusations.
Throughout, Erdoğan has sought a mediator role – so far without success – stating Tuesday: “Our aim is to get our region out of this whirlpool.”
Lisel Hintz, assistant prof. of international relations at Johns Hopkins University SAIS, said such mediation would heighten Turkey’s international status and bring Ankara leverage, but noted Erdoğan’s rhetorical shift, particularly since Oct. 25, might be linked to “the failure to secure the mediator role”.
“Using much harsher rhetoric against Israel and slamming Western nations for their support of Israel attempted to re-position Erdoğan as the defender of the Palestinian cause and leader of Muslims worldwide, and to underscore Turkey's larger position as counter-hegemon against an immoral imperialist West,” Hintz told Turkey recap.
She added, “This form of identity politics may be calculated to attract voters in the crucial fight to win back İstanbul and Ankara when limited coffers mean handouts aren't easily deliverable.”
The Road Ahead
And just like that, following the Gaza part of his speech, Erdoğan shifted to future goals and 2024 elections. After hyping up the 2023 centennial in campaign messaging for years, that moment has passed, and fresh slogans have been selected to maintain the AKP’s forward-looking stance. (Read above: That Atatürk quote)
Along with “Century of Turkey”, the new buzzword is “2053 Vision” to commemorate the 600th conquest of İstanbul. For this date, Erdoğan set a goal of raising the “national income level to 7.7 trillion dollars” before listing of many other numbers – a staple of his speeches often used to signal progress.
Notably, most of the numbers this time involved loans, scholarships and incentives for Turkish students in an apparent appeal to young voters and future first-time voters. Erdoğan also outlined home loan programs and construction projects aimed at supporting and housing displaced families in the earthquake zone.
He then ended with promises to tackle inflation. Taken together, the speech follows a straight line set out in Erdoğan’s opening remarks on the defense sector, in which he cites the proverb: “Get ready for war, if you want peace.” Once again, Erdoğan is on the front foot, preparing for his next test at the ballot box and beyond.
– Diego Cupolo