The Turkish government responded to the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 bribery and corruption investigations, which targeted ministers’ relatives and crony businessmen, by declaring them “coup attempts” and launching an all-out war on the Gulen movement, which it singled out as the mastermind of the alleged plot.
Since then, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership, has left behind the critical phases of this “civil war” against its former ally and de facto coalition partner, turning the balance decisively in its favor. The government passed its key resilience test in the March 30 local elections, losing less support than expected and retaining the two “strategic municipalities” of Istanbul and Ankara.