Turkey’s Prime Minister faces another political crisis

Anna Sonny, 10 January 2014

The Turkish government has found itself engulfed in a political crisis that could potentially threaten Prime Minister Erdogan’s chances at being re-elected next year. A cloud of suspicion is hovering over the prime minister’s inner circle amidst allegations of bribery and fraud in a scandal that seems to be edging closer and closer to Erdogan himself.

Last month more than 350 police officers were either fired or reassigned (mostly demoted); the majority of these were directly involved in a probe into corruption allegations against the president’s inner circle. A week ago, police raided the offices of businessmen and others close to the prime minister as part of the investigation – then this Wednesday, both the economy minister and the interior minister stepped down, followed by the environment and urban planning minister Erdogan Bayraktar. Bayraktar claimed the prime minister was personally involved in property deals that are being investigated, and called for him to step down.

There is no doubt that Erdogan’s party has kept up a good economic track record over the past decade – the country has experienced annual growth rates of more than 4%, and GDP has risen by more than 45% in real terms. Turkey is also respected as a stable power in a troubled Middle East. But in issues that relate to democracy and rule of law, Erdogan keeps tripping up.

Last summer, an environmental protest in Istanbul erupted into anti-government protests in what was labelled the worst political crisis of Erdogan’s rule. The prime minister’s response was heavy-handed and drew international attention.

The EU condemned the brute force with which the Turkish police reacted to the summer protests and has voiced concern over Erdogan’s response to the corruption scandal and the investigation of it. A question mark is now hanging over Turkey’s long and drawn-out EU accession process. Negotiations resumed last November after being left untouched for three and a half years.  In December both sides signed an agreement which will allow EU governments to send back illegal immigrants who enter the bloc through Turkey.  An agreement on starting discussions to drop visa requirements for Turks visiting Europe was also signed.

But Erdogan’s lack of respect for rule of law in his response to crisis is likely to cool relations – again. With local and national elections coming up this year and next, Erdogan has a long way to go to prove both to the Turkish public and the international that he is serious about following democratic processes properly.