Turkey’s parliament could be finalizing its own demise
The "palace regime," a phrase coined by opposition members to define the Turkish president's agenda, aims to silence the last legitimate venue for political opposition prior to the 2019 presidential election.
It's not possible to regulate people's thoughts, but Turkey's president has come up with the next-best thing: controlling their words.
Since the April 16 referendum that expanded the authority of the presidency, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been urging Turkey's parliament to make drastic changes to its bylaws and internal regulations. On July 7, two right-wing parties — the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) — submitted an 18-point plan to back Erdogan’s proposals to modify bylaws. The draft generated tense arguments in the Constitutional Commission but is expected to pass with ease: The AKP has joined forces with the ultranationalist MHP — the smallest party in parliament — to guarantee a majority vote.
The proposed changes are quite broad: Some are rather arbitrary and petty, while others are well-calculated to have a lasting impact on Turkish politics. Most opposition lawmakers refer to the package as the “palace regime,” saying it's no longer about the parliament, AKP or even the prime minister and his Cabinet. Rather, it's about serving the presidential palace's interests.
What are these changes? First, there are stylistic ones, such as changes to the parliamentary dress code. Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman, an outspoken Islamist, has never been happy with the current code, which requires him to wear a black tailcoat and white bow tie. Under the proposed changes, that uniform would no longer be required. There also has been debate about removing ties as a requirement for all male lawmakers.
