U.S. President Donald Trump paid his first ever visit to the Department of State on May 2, 2018 since he assumed power in January 2017. He was there for the swearing-in ceremony of former CIA director, new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The European Union on May 2 unveiled plans for its first post-Brexit multi-year budget, risking a clash with EU members Poland and Hungary over a proposal to link funding to respect for the rule of law.
In the absence of a single strong candidate under whom opposition parties could unite against President Tayyip Erdoğan, the name of former President Abdullah Gül was circulated as a possible candidate in the June 24 early election in Turkey.
The June 24 early election will not only open a new and unchartered political geography for Turkey, it will but also help complete the transformation of President Teyyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti).
Turkey has less than two months left to the early presidential and parliamentarian elections on June 24.
Since last week there have been a number of unknowns regarding the early election row in Turkish politics. These unknowns can be summarized as follows:
Many outside observers of Turkish politics may have thought until a week ago that the domestic political scene has come to a point of stagnation, due to the near-total dominance of President Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti).
Political waters are warming in Turkey after the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) unexpected and unprecedented move to lend 15 of its MPs to the center-right İYİ (Good) Party in order to let it form a parliamentary group, in case it was blocked from entering early elections on June 24.
Fifteen members of parliament resigned from the social democratic main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on April 22, under the order of CHP head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in order to join the center-right İYİ (Good) Party.
