To whom is ‘personal solution’ directed at
OKAN Müderrisoğlu is an accomplished journalist from Ankara whom I have met during his years there.
Yesterday, he wrote an interesting article on Grand National Assembly Speaker Binali Yıldırım running for Istanbul.

Certain parts of the article were particularly striking.

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- He says:
“While Binali Yıldırım’s name does come up in almost every meeting, it is no secret that there are certain reservations.”
It does beg the question:
Considering that it is the President who will nominate him, is it the President who has the reservations?
Or, are there other forces involved for Istanbul?
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- He says:
“In addition to protocol issues, a balance may be achieved for district municipalities, municipal councils and municipal administrations.”

It does beg the question:
If the President has the first and final words on the matter, who is this request for balance coming from?
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-But the key part is this:
“The main point here is to prevent creating a perception of ‘personal solution’.” I can’t help but read this as a warning against creating personal solutions, and it begs the question:
Who is this person making the warning?

And to whom is it directed at?
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From what I can tell from his article, there is a great debate in Istanbul that is taking place behind closed doors.

END OF ALLIANCES, BEGINNING OF COALITIONS
NOW it is time to give a name to it.

Turkey is transitioning to a coalition period, at least in its two largest cities.

Barring any last-second changes, Istanbul and Ankara mayors will be representatives of a coalition in the coming year. Most likely, this will also be reflected in the organization of the municipal councils.
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Consecutive elections have revealed a certain resistance in the voter’s decisions. Economic developments, whether positive or negative, do not affect the distribution of votes enough to help any single party rise to power by itself. In case the two parties in question enter the municipal council elections with two separate lists, the presence of a coalition will be made even more apparent. In other words, the upcoming local elections will be the end of the alliances period, and the dawn of the coalitions era.
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Which, I believe, is a good thing…
An “alliance” creates fronts of opposition. A “coalition”, on the other hand, invites cooperation.
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Experiences show one thing.
Devlet Bahçeli is a responsible politician.

As a coalition partner, he has the strength of character necessary to make sacrifices, even to the political detriment of his party. This is the exactly the type of strength and understanding that will be required in the Istanbul of 15 million, or the Ankara of five million.

IF A KID BORN IN 2003 CAN WRITE SUCH A POEM
KAAN Sabancı’s first book had me baffled. A kid born in 2003...

Or, in other words
Only 15 years of age...

At 13, he published his first book of poems.
Now, his second book, “Maybe I Would’ve Returned” is out…
His first book had made me think whether he’s a one-hit wonder.

Obviously, he is not...

Just take a look at these lines...
“Gündüzüme güneş olmanı istedim senden
Ay oldun gecelerime
Ben de and içtiim her daim geceyi sevmeye
Kış girdi aramıza...”

If 15 year olds in this country have begun writing verses like these…

O everyman…

You have your work cut out for you…

A JOINT OPINION, AND A JOINT QUESTION, BY TEN JOURNALISTS
YESTERDAY evening, a group of journalists and I were guests to Mustafa Taviloğlu.

Mudo recently opened a new location in Maslak with a large investment.

Which we wanted to introduce to us.
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This is not a mere store. It is a veritable oasis of a new lifestyle.
You can feel and live the “zeitgeist” as you wander around the store.
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Most of us were of the opinion that:

Neither the US nor Europe has a store such as this.
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Yet, most of us also had the same question in our heads.

Is such an investment wise in the current economic crisis?
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Apparently, it is, if the investor is a patriot...

There is also the notion of looking at a crisis and seeing an opportunity.

JOURNALISTS FROM EVERY CAMP GATHERED AROUND THE SAME TABLE
Since the first Mudo store that opened in the Fitaş Bazaar in the 1970s, he has always been a trendsetter.

He was one of the first businesspeople to realize the importance of ads on print media.

And, driven by this vision, he has always done an excellent job in his media efforts.

Always managed to renew himself…

Which enabled him to stand tall and grow as more and more global giants entered the Turkish market.

Yesterday, I looked around at the journalists gathered at the table.

All of them well-known in the profession.

Journalists from every camp.

It is not a trivial matter to bring them all together on such a night.

This was made possible by Mudo’s personality, vision, and the patriotism that motivated him to make this investment in such a time.

If you are wondering how it feels to be in an oasis of well living, or the advancements in interior decoration, do hesitate Maslak.

MR. SÜLEYMAN, SEE, LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALI IS IN THE COURTROOM AS WELL
REMEMBER the admiral assassination conspiracy?
Or more specifically, the trial that invited Lieutenant Colonel Ali Tatar, an honorable officer of this country, to testify for the second time, and subsequently led him to commit suicide…

That historic conspiracy against so many honorable officers…
Today, the public prosecutor in those trials, who was vested special powers, is on trial for being a member of FETO.

And one of the charges brought up against him:
“Inciting Ali Tatar to commit suicide…”

This is a photograph that every single individual who wields the power of the police and the scales of justice must keep close to heart and conscience – in every order they sign, every early morning police raid they authorize to people’s homes, at every detention and arrest they enable.

hurriyet.com.tr – View on original site