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Ahmet Davutoğlu's future as Turkish prime minister in balance Ahmet Davutoğlu's future as Turkish prime minister in balance
(about 11 hours later)
The future of Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, was hanging in the balance on Wednesday as the ruling justice and development party (AKP) prepared to hold an extraordinary congress that could signal his exit. Turkey’s prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is set to pave the way for his own departure on Thursday in a dramatic turn of events that will boost the power of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Divisions between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan, rumoured for months, erupted into the open on Wednesday, with the two leaders holding crisis talks at the presidential palace.
The central executive committee of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) will meet on Thursday and Davutoğlu will announce he will not be a candidate for party chair at an upcoming congress on 22 May, meaning he will also step down as prime minister, Turkish media reported.
Davutoğlu became prime minister in August 2014 when Erdoğan moved from the premiership to the presidency. He was expected to play a backseat role as Erdoğan pushed ahead with plans to make the largely ceremonial role into an all-powerful executive position, yet Davutoğlu tried to act independently on a range of issues and had at best offered half-hearted support to plans for a stronger presidency.
The two also differed over the pre-trial imprisonment of academics and journalists, which Davutoğlu opposed, and over the possibility of the resumption of a peace process with the Kurdish rebels, which Erdoğan ruled out.
Davutoğlu also championed a deal with the EU to stem the flow of refugees across the Aegean Sea – an issue in which the president has shown little interest.
Related: European commission faces challenge to grant visa-free travel to TurksRelated: European commission faces challenge to grant visa-free travel to Turks
Davutoğlu, who is also party chief, had earlier held a meeting that lasted more than an hour and half with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that media described as critical for the prime minister’s future, amid reports of a split between the two leaders in key policy areas. Davutoğlu will make the highly-anticipated statement after the meeting of the party committee, the official Anatolia news agency reported.
Davutoğlu, a former foreign minister, has sought to defeat predictions that he would be a puppet when he became prime minister in August 2014 by carving out his own profile. Relations between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu had been seen by analysts as uneasy, but the speed with which it burst into the open took many by surprise.
No official statement was released after the meeting at Erdoğan’s presidential palace in Ankara. However CNN-Turk and NTV news channels reported that the congress is to be held later this month. Calling this meeting would allow the election of a new party leader. According to AKP convention the posts of party boss and head of government go to the same person. The biggest hint that Davutoğlu’s days are numbered came late on Sunday when a posting on the anonymous Turkish blog Pelican Brief believed to have been authored by people close to Erdoğan, aired the presidential camp’s alleged grievances with Davutoğlu, including not advocating for the presidential system favoured by Erdoğan strongly enough.
Davutoğlu will hold a news conference on Thursday following a gathering of the party’s central executive committee beginning at 0800 GMT, the official Anatolia news agency said. The executive committee will take a formal decision whether to hold an extraordinary congress which would then decide on the new party leader, reports said. The tumult at the top of Turkish politics unnerved financial markets, with the lira extending Wednesday’s losses to lose 1.09% in value against the US dollar.
Abdulkadir Selvi, who writes for the Hurriyet daily newspaper, told CNN-Turk that according to his information Davutoğlu would not be a candidate for the party leadership at the congress. If this is true it would mean that Turkey is heading for a change of prime minister at a time when Ankara is implementing a deal on refugees with the EU and battling Kurdish as well as Islamist militants. Since becoming president in August 2014 after over a decade as prime minister, Erdoğan has sought to tighten his grip on the levers of power, leading critics to accuse him of authoritarianism.
The possibility of tumult at the top of Turkish politics unnerved financial markets, with the lira losing 3.7% in value against the dollar. The appointment of a potentially more pliant prime minister would allow Erdoğan to further consolidate his powers as he seeks to win backing for controversial constitutional changes to give Turkey a stronger presidency.
Since becoming president in August 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister, Erdoğan has sought to tighten his grip on the levers of power, leading critics to accuse him of authoritarianism. The appointment of a more pliable prime minister would allow Erdoğan to further consolidate his powers. Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute, said Davutoğlu’s departure would be the next stage in a “hollowing out” of Turkish institutions by Erdoğan, who already controls the army and parliament.
Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research programme at the Washington Institute, said the move was the next stage in a “hollowing out” of Turkish institutions by Erdoğan who already controls the army and parliament. “It shows how much power has been massed in one person’s hands,” he told AFP, adding that Erdoğan was now exercising more control than anyone in Turkey’s modern democratic history. Related: Turkish journalists accuse Erdoğan of media witch-hunt
The departure of Davutoğlu would “allow Erdoğan to distance himself from some of his failed policies that can be attributed to Davutoğlu,” he added. “It shows how much power has been massed in one person’s hands,” he said, adding that Erdoğan was now exercising more control than anyone in Turkey’s modern democratic history.
Tension had reportedly been building between the men for months, even if the speed with which it burst into the open took many by surprise. Davutoğlu has championed a deal with the EU to stem the flow of refugees while the president has shown little interest in the accord. The departure of Davutoğlu “will allow Erdoğan to distance himself from some of his failed policies that can be attributed to Davutoğu,” he added.
By coincidence the EU commission announced on Wednesday that it was recommending giving Turks visa-free travel as part of the deal. Leading potential successors if Davutoğlu steps aside include the president’s longtime ally, transport minister Binali Yildirim, and the youthful energy minister Berat Albayrak, 38, who is married to the president’s eldest daughter Esra.
Davutoğlu has said there is no need for haste in Erdoğan’s drive to create a presidential system in Turkey, a pet project of the president that risks diminishing Davutoğlu’s own standing. He has also clashed with Erdoğan over whether journalists should be held in pre-trial detention. A decision last week by the executive committee of the AKP to remove Davutoğlu’s right to appoint regional party officials was also seen by commentators as a severe blow to the authority of the prime minister. But press reports also suggested a less high-profile figure was possible, such as deputy prime minister Yalçin Akdoğan, justice minister Bekir Bozdağ, or AKP deputy chair Mehmet Ali Şahin.
Potential prime ministerial successors if Davutoğlu steps aside include the transport minister and ally of Erdoğan, Binali Yıldırım, and the youthful energy minister, Berat Albayrak, 38, who is married to the president’s eldest daughter, Esra. “Whoever the new PM will be, it is clear that it will mean more power over the government by the president,” said Ozgur Altug, chief economist at BGC partners in Istanbul.