The Path That Davutoğlu Could No Longer Continue

After a period of speculation about the political future of Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Prime Minister of Turkey, he announced on Thursday at a press conference in Ankara that he would step down from the leadership of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the party congress scheduled to take place in about two weeks. The 57-year-old Davutoğlu was an academic before the rise of the AKP about 15 years ago. When the AKP achieved its first electoral victory, he was working as an advisor to the party until he was appointed as Foreign Minister in 2009, a position he held for five years before becoming Prime Minister just a day after taking over the party leadership two summers ago. His tenure as Prime Minister, which he has now ended, was marked by numerous ups and downs. On one hand, Turkey faced multiple bombings that shook the country, and the influx of refugees became a serious issue. On the other hand, Turkey's southern border suddenly became a battleground for the so-called Islamic State and the strengthening of Syrian Kurds. In this context, Davutoğlu put an end to speculation on Thursday. In a one-hour speech in Ankara, in front of a group of AKP members and journalists, he stated that he would resign from the party leadership at the emergency congress that will be held in about two weeks. In this passionate speech, he referred to his record and emphasized that he had fulfilled all his promises. Only at one point did he vaguely explain the reason for his resignation. Cengiz Günay, a senior analyst at the International Institute in Vienna, stated: "The only issue that Davutoğlu mentioned in this speech was that he had lost the support of important institutions within the AKP. On April 28, his power to appoint local party heads was overshadowed, and this power was taken from him by the party's parliament, and he said that following this event, it was no longer possible for him to continue leading the party." While both Günay and many other analysts assess this resignation as a result of differences between Davutoğlu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Fadi Hakura, a Turkey analyst at the Chatham House, told Radio Free Europe: "I think Erdoğan clearly had a problem with Davutoğlu's lack of absolute obedience. Erdoğan wants to change Turkey's political system from parliamentary to presidential, an issue that Davutoğlu had significant problems with. This, along with other disagreements, caused the relationship between these two powerful men to collapse. In response to Davutoğlu's resignation, Erdoğan only stated that this was the Prime Minister's own decision." Now, the AKP is set to hold an emergency congress on May 22, where Davutoğlu will resign from the party leadership and consequently from the premiership. Some members of the party were seen crying during the Prime Minister's speech on Thursday. The party, founded in 2001 and holding the parliamentary majority, has undergone serious transformations according to Cengiz Günay in Vienna. He told Radio Free Europe: "The AKP has somewhat transformed. Most of the key members of the party currently do not hold high positions in the party. Many of those who founded this party alongside Erdoğan and held important jobs in the party and government are now standing outside. For about two years or a bit longer, alongside the disputes between Erdoğan and Gülen, we have witnessed changes in the members within the AKP, with new individuals joining the party. Some of them come from Islamist civil society groups, while others are bureaucrats who were not part of this political movement but have reached positions they owe to the AKP and Erdoğan." These internal party developments have been described as a coup by Erdoğan's palace by one of the main opposition leaders in Turkey, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People's Party. These events in Turkey come at a time when the country is on the verge of implementing an agreement with the European Union regarding refugees, an agreement that will bring significant benefits, including the lifting of visa requirements for Turkish citizens traveling to Europe. Cengiz Günay in Vienna believes that these recent developments will not affect the implementation of the agreement. He told Radio Free Europe: "The European Union has somewhat lost its interest in promoting democratic changes. This is true not only for Turkey but also for Egypt, Tunisia, Ukraine, and other countries. In a way, the EU's interests have shifted from supporting democratic changes to supporting stability, pragmatism, and realpolitik. From Europe's perspective, developments in Turkey are concerning, but it does not see itself capable of influencing them." Some speculations from Turkey suggest that possible replacements for the Prime Minister's position include Numan Kurtulmuş, the government spokesman, and Bekir Bozdağ, the Minister of Justice, both loyal to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.