President Erdoğan under the tutelage of ultranationalist MHP's leader Bahçeli

Murat Yetkin writes: President Erdoğan is a leader who built his whole political line on “being against tutelage”. He had never hidden his goal of destroying the tutelage of the military, the university, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, or the so-called interest rate lobby. But at the point we’re in, there is a strong impression that Erdoğan is under the tutelage of his alliance partner and ultranationalist MHP's leader Devlet Bahçeli.

Wednesday November 25 2020 11:59 am

Duvar English

Journalist Murat Yetkin argued that there is a strong impression that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is under the tutelage of the leader of ruling People's Alliance member Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli.

In a recent piece he penned his personal blog following AKP heavyweight Bülent Arınç's resignation, Yetkin argued that the developments in Ankara confirm Bahçeli targeted Erdoğan's reform agenda with certain moves. According to Yetkin, when Erdoğan turned towards a more reformist atmosphere, and Arınç talked about the release of jailed Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş, MHP's concerns grew.

"Bahçeli wants to make sure that when Erdogan talks reform, he means token measures and nothing more. That is because Bahçeli does not wish the slightest change in the presidential government system. He looks out to this system more than Erdoğan does. Indeed, the President has options for different scenarios to stay in power without Bahçeli, perhaps even without much altering the presidential system. Bahçeli, on the other hand, needs Erdoğan. That is if he wants to continue being the de facto ruling partner without taking any responsibility. And this is what Erdoğan does not want to see," Yetkin wrote.

Yetkin's piece in full can be reached here.