The detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu early this morning, amid allegations of “supporting terrorism through a city consensus” and “corruption,” continues to resonate globally.<\/p>\n
In Western media, \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s detention is largely viewed as a move ahead of potential presidential elections and against President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s most significant rival.<\/p>\n
For example, the Financial Times<\/em>, in its article titled “Turkish police detain Erdo\u011fan\u2019s main political rival,” stated, “State media said \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s detention on Wednesday was part of an investigation into alleged terror links, while the opposition called the move a ‘coup attempt,’ and the arrest sent the Turkish currency and markets tumbling.”<\/p>\n Investment management firm T Rowe Price analyst Tomasz Wieladek told the FT<\/em> that the detention was “a wake-up call for everyone.”<\/p>\n Wieladek suggested that the Turkish Central Bank has “limited firepower” to defend the lira, adding, “Assets will probably continue to be sold off further.”<\/p>\n Bloomberg<\/em> reported that Turkish banks sold $8 billion to support the lira from morning to midday.<\/p>\n Highlighting the market turmoil since morning, Bloomberg<\/em> noted in another report, “Turkish markets were rattled on Wednesday after the detention of a top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, stoking concern that political turmoil risks undermining recent investor-friendly economic policies.”<\/p>\n Nick Rees, macro research director at Monex Europe in London, was quoted in the report, saying, “This has been a bit of a shock to the system. Markets had become increasingly complacent, and now that spell has been broken, dramatic consequences are unfolding as traders reprice T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s political risk premiums.”<\/p>\n Henrik Gullberg from Coex Partners said the magnitude of the move was “surprising,” but news of political pressure was less so, adding, “Practically, I\u2019m not sure this changes much in terms of market-sensitive economic policies.”<\/p>\n The report also noted that the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index fell by approximately 7% at the opening, while the yield on 10-year government bonds increased by 139 basis points to 29.58%.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s Der Spiegel<\/em>, in its article titled “Turkish authorities arrest Erdo\u011fan\u2019s most important opponent,” stated, “Turkish authorities are expanding their repressive measures against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu.”<\/p>\n The report highlights that \u0130mamo\u011flu, along with Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yava\u015f, is seen as Erdo\u011fan\u2019s strongest rival.<\/p>\n According to DW Turkish<\/em>, \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s detention also resonated widely in German politics. The development was assessed as an “attempt by Erdo\u011fan to disable his main rival” and warned that it could have serious consequences.<\/p>\n SPD Co-Chairman Lars Klingbeil harshly criticized \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s detention as a “severe attack on democracy in T\u00fcrkiye.”<\/p>\n Klingbeil stated, “The Turkish government is thus showing that it no longer wants fair elections and an independent rule of law. The steps taken are disproportionate and destroy trust and credibility. This will have dramatic consequences for the entire country.”<\/p>\n Max Lucks, a member of the German Federal Parliament\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of the German-Turkish Parliamentary Group, also described \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s detention as an attack on fair elections and fair competition in light of the presidential elections.<\/p>\n The British The Times<\/em>, in its article titled “Istanbul Mayor arrested as Erdo\u011fan cracks down on election rivals,” stated, “Protests have been banned across the city after the arrest of Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu, seen as the Turkish leader\u2019s biggest threat for the presidency.”<\/p>\n A report in Tokyo-based Nikkei Asia<\/em> also claimed that Turkish authorities had detained “Erdo\u011fan\u2019s main rival,” noting that the opposition described the move as a “coup.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu early this morning, amid allegations of “supporting terrorism through a city consensus” and “corruption,” continues to resonate globally. In Western media, \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s detention is largely viewed as a move ahead of potential presidential elections and against President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s most significant rival. For example, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[5946,8158,1676,8159,8143,6433,302,5714,503,8157,1962,7141,8149,8161,7305,8155,8156,1448,8160,8142,409],"class_list":["post-8475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diplomacy","tag-bloomberg","tag-der-spiegel","tag-detention","tag-dw-turkish","tag-ekrem-imamoglu","tag-financial-markets","tag-financial-times","tag-german-politics","tag-headline","tag-international-media","tag-istanbul","tag-lars-klingbeil","tag-market-turmoil","tag-nikkei-asia","tag-political-risk","tag-political-rival","tag-presidential-elections","tag-recep-tayyip-erdogan","tag-the-times","tag-turkish-lira","tag-turkiye"],"yoast_head":"\n