Turkey: Moving from 'Individual Party' to 'Individual Regime'

Turkey is currently the site of significant domestic and international political events; on one hand, news of the European Commission's report on Turkey in the media indicates the beginning of a new phase in international relations between Turkey and the European community, suggesting that citizens of this country will be able to travel to Europe without visas in the future. On the other hand, serious internal tensions are occurring within the country. Recently, the issue of removing the term 'secular' and purging the Turkish Constitution of secularism has become a hot topic in political, social, and cultural circles in Turkey, as well as in many countries that have some political closeness to Turkey. This issue has not yet been fully assessed, but since Monday, tensions between the Prime Minister of Turkey and the President have attracted the attention of domestic and foreign analysts. Articles in publications affiliated with the ruling party, including Hurriyet, Sabah, and Yeni Safak, have predicted the separation of Ahmet Davutoglu from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Abdulkadir Selvi, a journalist affiliated with the ruling party and a political analyst in Hurriyet, wrote in Monday's issue: 'Turkey's politics this summer will be hotter than expected. The removal of the responsibility for appointing and dismissing provincial and district heads of the AKP from Ahmet Davutoglu by the approval of the AKP's central policy council indicates the beginning of significant changes this summer.' It is noteworthy that the provincial and district heads of the AKP have long been appointed by the party leader, and their removal authority was in his hands. This process continued until last week when the central policy council of the party suddenly decided to strip this responsibility from Davutoglu. The news of this event was published while Davutoglu was still abroad, and upon his return to Turkey, he quickly met with the President without answering reporters on this matter and then confirmed the issue. Domestic observers believe that this incident can be seen as a form of political coup against the Prime Minister of Turkey. On Thursday morning, the front pages of Turkish newspapers announced the end of Davutoglu's premiership. Alongside domestic Turkish newspapers, Reuters reported that figures such as Numan Kurtulmus, the current government spokesman, Bekir Bozdag, the Minister of Justice, and Binali Yildirim, the Minister of Transport, are being considered. The situation did not stop there; it was later revealed that Berat Albayrak, the Minister of Energy and son-in-law of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has also been proposed for the premiership. Cumhuriyet newspaper stated that if Erdogan's son-in-law becomes Prime Minister, it would mark a second occurrence of Ottoman history, as in the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid, his son-in-law was appointed as the Ottoman Prime Minister. For this reason, some believe that Erdogan, to absolve himself of such accusations, would prefer to bring one of the other options, most likely Binali Yildirim, who has supported him since the AKP leadership elections, to the premiership. On Wednesday evening, a brief meeting was held between the President and the Prime Minister, which ultimately revealed that in the coming weeks, on May 22, 2016, an extraordinary congress of the AKP will be held, and a new leader of the party will be determined. Meanwhile, on Thursday, May 5, 2016, Davutoglu delivered a short speech at the AKP's main headquarters, emphasizing two important points: 1) that he would not accept any responsibility or position based on negotiations; 2) that his responsibility over the past four years was not based on his will but rather on necessity. These claims indicate that Davutoglu has been under pressure and recommendations from the President of Turkey and preferred to resign from the premiership. Furthermore, his second statement contradicts Erdogan's earlier claim that Davutoglu's resignation was his own decision. In any case, what has occurred currently indicates a 'power coup' by Erdogan against the Prime Minister of Turkey, and Turkey has shifted from governance by an 'individual party' to an 'individual regime.' Erdogan easily sidelined any dissenters and critics from the party, and now he is expelling his opponents from the government as well. However, it should not be forgotten that this event marks the beginning of the Turkish government's movement towards early elections.