Something is bubbling beneath surface in Turkish government

Is something happening within the Turkish government?

That was one of the most popular questions among guests attending the ceremony in the Palais de France in Istanbul on Nov. 11, where French Ambassador Laurent Bili presented a Legion D’Honneur medal to one of Turkey’s leading industrialists, Bülent Eczacıbaşı, for his contributions to both Turkish-French relations and to cultural life in Turkey.

Given the government-dominated political atmosphere in Turkey nowadays, the question might be a dangerous one to ask in public. Still, it remains a matter of curiosity because of continuing signals from within the government.

The fact that President Tayyip Erdoğan has been delivering no fewer speeches than his time as prime minister and chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), and the fact that his words are equally political, slamming the opposition parties just like he did before - despite his constitutionally bi-partisan status - is only part of it. He did not hide the fact that he was going to be a more active president who would not leave government affairs to the prime minister only; so his active stance was something expected, even if it overshadows Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu from time to time.

But there are more indications than the frequent speeches.

The first was about the appointment of Davutoğlu’s undersecretary. Erdoğan would have liked to see Davutoğlu keep his last trusted undersecretary, Fahri Kasırga, but Davutoğlu’s choice was to bring in Gökhan Çetinsaya, the head of Turkey’s Higher Education Board (YÖK). The end result was the appointment of Kemal Madenoğlu, a former undersecretary of the Development Ministry, whose most recent job was to monitor the...