Turkey: Erdoğan opponent Imamoğlu arrested
Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu has been arrested shortly before his expected nomination as the presidential candidate of the Kemalist and social democratic CHP. On Tuesday his university degree, a prerequisite for the presidency, was also revoked. Thousands have come out in protest – despite the Istanbul provincial government's ban on public gatherings and restriction of Internet access. The press also sees clear political motives behind the arrest.
Nothing can save this government now
Erdoğan and co. are fighting for survival and using every possible means, comments Birgün:
“This is a coup d'état by the government. They want to remove all obstacles blocking their goal of consolidating the regime and getting Erdoğan re-elected. ... This government has nothing more to offer the country. It has no chance of surviving politically. ... It is impossible for it to get back on its feet, to get things back on track or even to give the people hope. Even if all the opposition members are arrested and detained, nothing will change. ... Good will triumph over evil, democracy over tyranny, the people over the one-man regime.”
Ankara seizing the moment
The Financial Times situates the arrest in the context of the current deliberations regarding a rapprochement between the EU and Turkey:
“European criticisms are likely to be muted by the hopes of a sizeable Turkish contribution to reducing the continent's security reliance on the US. Indeed such calculations, and Trump's return to the White House, may have persuaded the Erdoğan apparatus that it could afford to target a rival. ... Yet further democratic backsliding in this country of 85 million people would be another sorry sign of how Trump 2.0 is upending global relations – and bolstering leaders who lean towards authoritarianism.”
Next stop eternal president
Erdoğan wants to lure Kurdish voters away from the opposition, writes Turkey correspondent Raphael Geiger in the Tages-Anzeiger:
“His game is as follows: he started a peace process with the Kurdish PKK militia, while Kurdish voters tend to support the popular İmamoğlu. If the CHP doesn't present İmamoğlu as its candidate but the more nationalist mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, for example, the CHP could lose the support of the Kurds because some Kurdish voters would prefer Erdoğan, who promises them peace. This is the path to the eternal presidency Erdoğan is seeking. And it's tactics like these that have kept him in power for more than two decades.”
Following standard procedure
The Frankfurter Rundschau expects nothing from Brussels:
“Europe is more dependent than ever on Erdoğan. Now that the US is no longer a reliable partner, the European Nato states need Turkey, which has the second-largest army in the defence alliance, on their south-eastern flank. Turkey also harbours millions of refugees whom it is feared could move on to Europe. So this time, too, it's standard procedure: EU states like Germany criticise Erdoğan's actions. He in turn generally responds with accusations against the Europeans. And after a verbal exchange of blows it's back to business as usual.”
From reformer to autocrat
Erdoğan once stood for very different values, Naftemporiki reflects:
“How much things can change in 22 years. When the AKP first came to power in 2002 it pushed through five reform packages, including on minority rights and the judicial system. In his first two years in power, the then 'reformer' Erdoğan largely dispelled fears about the nature of political Islam and cast Turkey in the role of a 'model' of democratic governance in the Muslim world. But in recent years the head of state has increasingly moved towards authoritarianism.”