Ankara corridors are buzzing: Allegations of a 'race to complain to the Palace' in ministries!

The alleged disagreement between Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and Deputy Minister Bülent Turan, which has reportedly been ongoing for some time, became visible during the discussions at the Planning and Budget Committee. Bülent Turan's absence from the meeting drew the attention of CHP deputies, and the events were even recorded in the committee minutes.

Nefes columnist Nuray Babacan stated that this situation is not unique to the Ministry of Interior, noting that similar tensions are seen in almost all ministries, and shared information being discussed in the corridors.

“THEY ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT EACH OTHER TO THE PALACE…”

Babacan revealed the extent of the chaos within the ministries by stating, “In the corridors of power, stories are told of ministers and deputy ministers who have problems with each other, argue, fight, and do not come together. Examples are being shared regarding names who complain about each other to the Palace and use their positions as a ‘waiting room’ to return to politics or to become ministers.” Babacan noted that in some institutions, because deputy ministers are addressed as ‘Minister,’ five people can respond simultaneously to that title.

Among the examples Babacan shared in her article are incidents where a 30-year-old deputy minister scolded a 60-year-old general manager, as well as ministers who appointed their private secretaries as deputy ministers and conducted all business solely through that person. Additionally, allegations that some individuals who transitioned from being MPs to deputy ministers demanded ministerial protocol for themselves in their electoral districts, and that these behaviors were reported to Ankara by governors, are also among the topics being discussed in the corridors.

Babacan underscored the bottleneck in the system with the words, “In other words, there is not much being said about making ministry work more efficient, prioritizing citizens' demands, or producing projects that will contribute to the country's development. Only a very small number of deputy ministers are embraced by the ministry bureaucracy and work efficiently.” For this reason, she reported that evaluations regarding the reorganization of the current structure are on the agenda.

Stating that the new structures create a second tier within the bureaucracy and slow down operations, Babacan emphasized that this situation is also found to be inefficient by many who are part of the system, and concluded her article with these words:

“All these accounts reveal the contribution to sluggishness made by the new cadres created by the AKP—including those in the Palace—which came to power with the promise of ‘shrinking’ the state, which it found sluggish.”

News Source: 12punto