Power games at Ankara’s ‘White Palace’

The president’s men: The ‘real government’ successful Turkey consists of six individuals, three of whom are members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s family: his son, Bilal (1), and his two sons-in-law, Berat Albayrak (2), heir to the household that controls astir of the country’s media, and Selcuk Bayraktar (6), proprietor of the drone manufacturing company. The others are Erdogan’s closest confidants: Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (3); his successor astatine the quality agency, Ibrahim Kalin (4); and, finally, the main of staff of the ‘White Palace,’ Hasan Dogan (5).

The analogous of Turkey’s NTV network, Hussein Gunai, was speaking frankly. Unaware that the camera was recording, helium bluntly expressed his take connected what unfolded successful the Oval Office betwixt US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart. 

But helium was arsenic explicit astir events wrong Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s palace successful Ankara. The rivalries within the Turkish president’s ellipse whitethorn person caused some surprise overseas – but not wrong Turkey.

‘Change successful Turkey will not travel from the absorption but from someone wrong the palace who is aligned with Erdogan and follows the president’s orders’

People who intimately travel governmental developments successful Ankara often remark – successful backstage conversations – that various powerfulness centers are astatine play wrong the so-called “White Palace,” noting that this is the spot of the country’s existent government. They assertion that Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Turkish Parliament are specified bystanders who efficaciously ratify the decisions made astatine the palace.

The “real Turkish government,” arsenic they picture it, comprises six cardinal figures from Erdogan’s innermost circle: his two sons-in-law – Selcuk Bayraktar, who owns the institution that produces Turkey’s unmanned aerial vehicles, and Berat Albayrak, whose household controls the Albayrak Group, a conglomerate with adjacent ties to Qatar that dominates astir of the country’s media; his son, Bilal Erdogan; his overseas curate and ex-secret work chief, Hakan Fidan; the existent quality main Ibrahim Kalin; and the palace’s main of staff, Hasan Dogan. 

Ousters

It is communal cognition successful Turkey that a powerfulness struggle is under way, not conscionable implicit who will succeed Erdogan – since everyone knows that winning the adjacent predetermination without him will not beryllium casual – but besides implicit who will beryllium successful the champion presumption to power the president’s decisions. These intrigues within the palace tribunal person besides resulted successful some very ugly ousters, with a caller illustration being the nationalist “beheading” of Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan’s media and communications main and adjacent subordinate of 7 years. 

The Albayrak household believed that the president’s nationalist representation needed a stronger boost, and they had been pressing for Altun’s removal for respective months, arsenic helium had built his ain powerfulness basal within the statesmanlike palace. After overmuch persuasion, Erdogan was convinced to disregard him from the post.

Even Fidan’s assignment to the Foreign Ministry was viewed by galore journalists successful Turkey arsenic a “precaution” initiated by the Erdogan family. The Turkish president used to notation to Fidan arsenic his “black box” and had kept him astatine the caput of quality for an full 13 years. As a result, the household believed helium had accumulated too overmuch powerfulness and sought his replacement by Kalin, the Turkish Presidency’s diplomatic advisor and spokesperson.

The drone prince

The Bayraktar family, and Selcuk Bayraktar successful particular, play a very important relation successful the palace. He is regarded arsenic the country’s unofficial defence minister, since helium is not lone liable for supplying drones, but besides for crafting defence policy. Sources from the main absorption assertion that it was Selcuk Bayraktar who convinced his father-in-law that Turkey should not get F-16 Vipers oregon upgrade its existing F-16s, but should, instead, absorption connected UAVs, F-35s and the Turkish-made Kaan combatant jet. His predominant appearances connected astir Turkish television networks, his interviews and the Teknofest technology fairs, which are chiefly addressed to a younger audience, are interpreted arsenic efforts to cultivate a enactment illustration that whitethorn beryllium utile down the enactment should helium question power.

The son

Bilal Erdogan has created his ain web wrong the state apparatus, spearheaded by Turkish Airlines, state broadcaster TRT, and galore nationalist organizations. This web comprises puerility friends and graduates of the spiritual Kartal Imam Hatip School successful Istanbul, widely regarded arsenic 1 of the foremost establishments for educating the country’s blimpish elite. 

Every manager and president astatine TRT is either a puerility person oregon a postgraduate of that precocious school. The broadcaster precocious launched the English-language service, TRT World, astatine a outgo of millions of dollars. It was a determination that brought to the surface a rivalry with different subdivision of the Erdogan family. 

The media prince

Through its namesake conglomerate and the Turkuvaz Media Group, the Albayrak household controls the newspapers Sabah and Takvim, dozens of vigor stations, the country’s largest studios, and its biggest printing presses. Although it holds nary shares connected paper, it is besides said to person power implicit the Hurriyet Group, CNN Turk and Kanal D. The household besides dominates the billboard advertizing market. Furthermore, the household is regarded arsenic a cardinal nexus to Qatar.

Relations with Bilal Erdogan, however, are not astatine each good. One of the clearest examples was that conscionable days aft TRT World was launched, the Albayrak Group founded a rival English-language TV network, A News, astatine a smaller cost. This is besides the web that is broadcast astatine Istanbul Airport.

Erdogan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, served arsenic curate of vigor successful 2015-2018 and concern successful 2018-2020, but was “relieved” of his duties aft some thorny disputes with his father-in-law. What followed was galore months of tense silence. Over the past two years, however, Albayrak has played a important relation successful appointing the enactment of state banks and the supervisory bodies overseeing the banks and the fiscal system.

The ‘vizier’

The governmental limb of Turkey’s powerfulness constitution runs done Chief of Staff Hasan Dogan. “A vertebrate cannot flutter its wings wrong the palace without Hasan knowing astir it,” accidental those acquainted with beingness successful the “Ak Saray,” arsenic the palace is known to members of the AKP. Appointments, dismissals, readying the president’s trips and often his communications each walk done Dogan’s office. He is said to support bully relations with everyone and is regarded arsenic perfectly loyal to Erdogan.

The ‘secret’ duo

The Fidan-Kalin duo is considered peculiarly influential, arsenic some men bask President Erdogan’s assurance successful their work and support strong ties with cardinal parts of the state apparatus, including nationalist intelligence, the equipped forces, the diplomat corps, and overmuch of the bureaucracy. Their names person often been mentioned successful transportation with Erdogan’s aboriginal succession, however, they debar advertizing such a prospect, knowing that anyone who has appeared successful the past to beryllium flirting with such a conception was rapidly made to spell distant – arsenic was the lawsuit with Turkey’s erstwhile president, Abdullah Gul, erstwhile premier curate Ahmet Davutoglu, and ex-vice premier and concern curate Ali Babacan.

Fidan and Kalin’s top disadvantage, however, is that they person nary familial ties with the country’s president. Kalin is the 1 who prevented the Istanbul authoritative from charging suspended politician Ekrem Imamoglu with ties to terrorism, arsenic this would person paved the way for the assignment of a state trustee astatine the Istanbul Municipality – with unpredictable consequences for unrest successful the streets and for the country’s future.

Seasoned analysts, however, enactment that unless Erdogan himself decides to step aside, helium will not permission power, and that anybody trying to get much power than him whitethorn wage a dense price. What they foresee is that, done practice with some the Kurds and Devlet Bahceli’s Turkish nationalists, Erdogan whitethorn effort to propulsion law reforms that would let him to proceed governing the state for galore much years, erstwhile again reshuffling his ellipse of associates and trusted allies.

“Change successful Turkey will not travel from the absorption but from someone wrong the palace who is aligned with Erdogan and follows the president’s orders,” 1 veteran expert told Kathimerini.

The lone happening that will not alteration for the Turkish president is his emotion for his children, who presently power a portion of the powerfulness structure.