Turkish former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has launched a new political party in a challenge to the 17-year rule of Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Davutoğlu, who served as prime minister and AKP chairman from 2014 to 2016, announced on Friday that he was creating Gelecek Partisi or Future Party, a move dismissed as a non-threat by the president's supporters.
His conflict with Erdoğan culminated in Davutoğlu's resignation from the premiership, effective from 22 May 2016. He opposed the latter's moves to transform Turkey's form of government from a parliamentary to a presidential system.
Davutoğlu resigned from the AKP in September, claiming it was failing to address the country's problems. Another former AKP cabinet member, Ali Babacan, quit two months earlier and is expected to announce his own rival party within weeks.
The Future Party immediately published a list of 154 founding members, which included numerous former AKP officials and affiliates. It also published a manifesto in which it outlined its general political objectives, though without defining its political ideology.
To know more about this issue, we reached to Dr. Osman Faruk Logoglu, a senior member of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Here is the full text of our interview with him:
What are the reasons behind their decision to form this party?
The broad reason for the formation of the new party is disaffection with the increasingly authoritarian direction, one-man rule of President Erdoğan. Davutoğlu calls for participatory democracy and favors a parliamentary system of government. A more specific reason is the earlier impromptu dismissal of Davutoğlu as AKP’s chair-person and as Prime Minister. Davutoğlu and Erdoğan have exchanged harsh words since then and in a sense, this is Davutoğlu’s answer to what he regards as unfair treatment by President Erdoğan.
Can this party endanger the status of AKP?
The new Future Party will have an impact on AKP as it will attract some voters from it. The effect will be compounded by the presumed formation of another new party by Ali Babacan, also a former Minister in AKP governments. It is clear that for a whole array of reasons related to the economy, foreign relations and social policies, AKP is experiencing a potential meltdown, especially after the dramatic losses it suffered in the last local elections. Most analysts believe that AKP’s status will not be significantly affected by the new parties, but they are quick to point out that every single vote counts in the new presidential election system of 50% plus one.
What circles and factions will form the social origin of the party?
It is not clear what the base of support for the Future Party will be but what is manifest is that it will be a center-right party. One of their lead slogans is “libertarian secularism”, hinting that the Party will emphasize religion under the rubric of secularism. Founded mostly by disenchanted AKP supporters, the Future Party is unlikely to offer much to the public in terms of a new direction for the country.
The symbol of the party is the leaf of a plane tree and its motto is being loyal to principles and origins. Why this motto has been chosen?
The symbol of the green plane leaf is a tribute to the deep historical roots and traditions of the nation and commitment to the defense of one’s principles. The plane tree symbolizes endurance and strength in Turkish culture.
Interview by Payman Yazdani
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