Excerpt
On February 11, Turkish lawmakers came to blows on the parliament floor over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to appoint new justice and interior ministers. Cabinet reshuffles are routine in Erdogan’s Turkey, serving as a calculated mechanism to purge insufficiently loyal officials and replace them with figures willing to faithfully execute his increasingly authoritarian agenda.
This latest reshuffle, however, carries far greater significance: it appears to reflect Erdogan’s deliberate effort to facilitate a seamless transfer of power to his son, Bilal Erdogan. The professional histories and loyalties of the newly appointed ministers suggest they were selected not for technocratic competence, but for their proven willingness to weaponize state institutions against political challengers—most notably the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
By consolidating control over the justice and interior ministries, Erdogan is tightening his grip over the mechanisms that oversee elections, law enforcement, and judicial proceedings. In doing so, he is not merely governing, but shaping the conditions under which his successor will be determined. The objective of these machinations is clear: weaken the opposition, eliminate meaningful electoral independence, and ensure that Bilal Erdogan’s eventual ascent to the presidency occurs without resistance or democratic interruption.
The Anatomy of a Government Takeover
On February 11, Erdogan’s propaganda-media outlets announced the appointment of two new cabinet members, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci. While Ankara has not yet made official comments on the reason for replacing two sitting cabinet ministers, the change has come at a crucial juncture in what is expected to be Erdogan’s final presidential term. As questions of constitutional changes and even an early election circulate through Turkish public discourse, the cabinet shift sets in motion Erdogan’s plan to install his intended successor.