Parteiinterne Politik

The power struggle within the CHP is taking on a new dimension. While court-removed party leader Özgür Özel and his rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu mobilised their supporters at separate events on Saturday, security forces struck in western Turkey: a raid on a municipal administration run by the CHP resulted in more than 50 arrests, including the mayor, as Deutschlandfunk reports.

The mood on the ground is tense. Supporters from both camps report frustration and uncertainty – some openly speak of wanting to leave the country should the party ultimately collapse, as SRF describes. Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu continue not to speak with each other, but rather past their respective bases.

Erdoğan drives a wedge into the opposition

Critics see the raid as a political signal. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung analyses that President Erdoğan has succeeded in driving a wedge into the largest opposition party – and that the judiciary serves as a tool in doing so. The action against the municipal administration follows a pattern: the court removal of Özel and the reinstatement of Kılıçdaroğlu as interim chairman had already drawn international criticism.

International support for the CHP remains absent. European states observe developments, but do not intervene – a silence increasingly perceived in the Turkish opposition as complicity, as Handelsblatt notes. Yet according to observers, more is at stake than an internal party dispute: the CHP is the only force that could seriously challenge Erdoğan in national elections.

Saturday's dual event did not bridge the divide, but rather made it visible. As long as both camps pursue confrontation and the state increases external pressure, the risk grows that the party can no longer structurally fulfil its opposition role.