Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Tuesday accused the country’s prime minister, Binali Yıldırım, of sharing his authority with Berat Albayrak, the energy minister and son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying that there are actually two prime ministers in the country.
Speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “An energy conference is being held. The prime minister is not around. There are two official prime ministers; one of them is the de facto prime minister Binali Yıldırım, the other is the shadow prime minister, Berat Albayrak. Esteemed Mr. Yıldırım, act in line with the requirements of your position; don’t share your authority with others or you will lose prestige.”
Many think that Albayrak is acting as Erdoğan’s man in the Cabinet. Erdoğan was the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) leader until his election to the presidency in August 2014.
The main opposition leader also criticized President Erdoğan for talking about Turkey’s foreign policy as Erdoğan has frequently been making statements about such issues.
“If somebody is going to talk about Mosul, it is the foreign minister, the prime minister not the president,” he said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Erdoğan slammed Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, saying that Turkey will do whatever it wants in Mosul, in response to al-Abadi’s recent warning suggesting that Turkey could cause a regional war by maintaining a military presence in Iraq.