Defeat means different things for the president and Turkish PM

Political polarization has escalated in Turkey as the country is heading for a critical parliamentary elections on June 7.

The political tension gained a violent dimension on March 31 when an Istanbul prosecutor, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, was murdered during a terrorist attack. Kiraz had been investigating the use of excessive police force against demonstrators during the Gezi protests in 2013.

Following Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu?s barring of reporters of newspapers that printed the photo of the prosecutor when he was taken hostage by the terrorists from covering the man?s funeral on April 1, a number of pro-government papers targeted on April 3 Ayd?n Do?an, the honorary chairman of Turkey?s independent and most influential Do?an Media Group (to which the Hüriyet Daily News belongs as well) as someone who masterminds and benefits from terrorism. Do?an himself has been on the target list of terrorist groups for years.

On April 4, the bus carrying the players of Turkey?s popular Fenerbahçe football club was opened fire on, wounding the driver; a further disaster was averted at the last minute when the bus was prevented from driving off the viaduct. The players were on their way to the airport of the eastern Black Sea province of Trabzon after winning a league match 5-1 against the football club of neighboring Rize, the home town of President Tayyip Erdo?an. The government is considering even postponing the league.

Those are only two examples of tension spreading in different layers of society outside the boundaries of politics.

On April 7, the political parties have to submit their list of candidates for the 550-seat parliament to the Supreme Election Board (YSK). The law gives the right to the leaders of the parties to...