Imamoğlu Operation Sparks Dissent Within AKP
İmamoğlu on trial
Columnist Nuray Babacan from Nefes has reported on the behind-the-scenes sentiment within the ruling AKP following the operation targeting Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. According to Babacan, beyond pro-government media figures and online trolls, few interpret the operation as a genuine anti-corruption effort. Instead, she notes, there is growing unease within the AKP’s own ranks.
Babacan writes that some party members are now asking, “Did we shoot ourselves in the foot?” One source reportedly remarked: “At this rate, we’ll either end up like Azerbaijan or Turkmenistan.”
She also writes that many AKP supporters are raising serious concerns about the party’s trajectory and leadership dynamics:
“It seems that 40 percent of those who voted for the AKP did so due to a lack of alternatives. Now, even that group is drifting away. No one in the leadership is willing to stand up to the mistakes being made. Internal consultation has disappeared. The Presidential Government System has made Erdoğan inaccessible—even to his own team. Whoever controls the narrative wins.
We saw this coming. We saw how the country’s governance approach had changed despite objections. Especially after the Presidential Government System was adopted, everything shifted. The party administration no longer holds decision-making power. It’s been moving in this direction for some time. At this pace, we’re on track to resemble Azerbaijan or Turkmenistan.”
Regarding Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Babacan relays that his efforts to stabilize the economy have been seriously undermined:
“Those closely observing the economic situation say Şimşek has ‘lost his stomach’ in the face of recent developments. Everything he had been working on for months was upended by the March 19 operation. He is now trying to piece his economic program back together by seeking new funding sources—first in Brussels, now in the United States.”
