What will AK Party convention change?
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is scheduled to hold an emergency convention in Ankara on May 22. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has announced that he will resign as prime minister and AK Party chairman and will not run as a candidate again. There will be a single candidate for party chairman. If nothing surprising happens, the candidate will be announced on May 20. AK Party members are working hard and conducting tendency surveys to test the waters in the party this week. The candidate will be determined on the basis of survey results and to what extent this candidate is in harmony with the AK Party's ideals in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's mind.
This is certainly a difficult process when viewed from the outside. How has the AK Party reached this point? What will lie ahead of it from now on? Will it turn into a party that elects a new chairman every year? These are right questions that arouse curiosity. We need to seek answers to them in an objective way.
Let us start with how the AK Party has reached this point. Davutoğlu had a place in the history of Turkey as a hardworking and successful prime minister who had intense work for 20 months. I think he did important work in this period. However, anyone who is interested in Turkish politics is aware that there was a rupture and dialogue problems between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu's circles and a rising gap between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu's perspectives, especially for the past eight months. After he served as foreign minister, Davutoğlu became AK Party chairman and prime minister on Erdoğan's suggestion.
Turkey is experiencing a new period in which the president is elected by popular vote. Furthermore, Erdoğan, who was elected president in the first round of elections, is the strongest and the most charismatic leader in the history of Turkey, and he came to power through democratic means, so much so that his party has remained in power by achieving more votes in every election over the past 14 years. Surveys reveal that 95 percent of the AK Party's electorate supports the party because of Erdoğan's leadership. In such a picture, you cannot dissociate Erdoğan from his party. Since he was elected Istanbul mayor in 1994 and served as a provincial head of the Welfare Party (RP), Erdoğan has upheld changing the government to a presidential system. Now, if he can find enough support, he wants Turkey to switch to a presidential regime from the existing parliamentary system. If not, Turkey will seek ways to make slight changes to the Constitution for an intermediate formula such as a presidential system in which the president is a member of a political party. Such a system might be in place until 2019.
In short, the AK Party must elect a chairman who can work with such a leader. Davutoğlu had his own agenda and assertions in this regard. Certainly, this is not a mistake, but a virtue. However, I wonder whether Davutoğlu could come in first in elections it were not for Erdoğan? All surveys show that support for Davutoğlu alone does not exceed 5 percent. This is not something offensive, as nobody can have a base within the AK Party in the shadow of a leader like Erdoğan. The AK Party is identified with Erdoğan. In this case, where Erdoğan is unarguably the only leader of the AK Party, he expects the prime minister to act as his vice president in a sense.
The AK Party's new chairman to be elected on May 22 will assume this role, work in perfect coordination with Erdoğan and rapidly realize the policies that are needed for Erdoğan's 2019 road map. Who will the AK Party's new chairman be? According to those in the know, Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım; Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ; Energy Minister Berat Albayrak; National Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz and Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu stand out as potential candidates. Regardless of who the AK Party's new chairman will be, the abovementioned picture will not change. The AK Party has reached today without experiencing internal rifts. I think this is one of the basic qualities that distinguishes the AK Party from other parties. Davutoğlu and former President Abdullah Gül acted as wedding witnesses and hugged each other during Erdoğan's daughter Sümeyye's wedding ceremony on Saturday. This was a very significant message indicating that the AK Party is unified and will not disintegrate because of personal ambitions or fights. I think the AK Party will continue to move on its path based on this message after May 22. Davutoğlu bade a noble farewell that raised the standard of Turkish politics. I think he will always have an exceptional place in the AK Party in his political life, which is like a long-distance race. However, considering that frequent changes in management might weaken the party, the AK Party must head toward 2019 with its new chairman and prime minister who will be elected on May 22.
This is certainly a difficult process when viewed from the outside. How has the AK Party reached this point? What will lie ahead of it from now on? Will it turn into a party that elects a new chairman every year? These are right questions that arouse curiosity. We need to seek answers to them in an objective way.
Let us start with how the AK Party has reached this point. Davutoğlu had a place in the history of Turkey as a hardworking and successful prime minister who had intense work for 20 months. I think he did important work in this period. However, anyone who is interested in Turkish politics is aware that there was a rupture and dialogue problems between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu's circles and a rising gap between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu's perspectives, especially for the past eight months. After he served as foreign minister, Davutoğlu became AK Party chairman and prime minister on Erdoğan's suggestion.
Turkey is experiencing a new period in which the president is elected by popular vote. Furthermore, Erdoğan, who was elected president in the first round of elections, is the strongest and the most charismatic leader in the history of Turkey, and he came to power through democratic means, so much so that his party has remained in power by achieving more votes in every election over the past 14 years. Surveys reveal that 95 percent of the AK Party's electorate supports the party because of Erdoğan's leadership. In such a picture, you cannot dissociate Erdoğan from his party. Since he was elected Istanbul mayor in 1994 and served as a provincial head of the Welfare Party (RP), Erdoğan has upheld changing the government to a presidential system. Now, if he can find enough support, he wants Turkey to switch to a presidential regime from the existing parliamentary system. If not, Turkey will seek ways to make slight changes to the Constitution for an intermediate formula such as a presidential system in which the president is a member of a political party. Such a system might be in place until 2019.
In short, the AK Party must elect a chairman who can work with such a leader. Davutoğlu had his own agenda and assertions in this regard. Certainly, this is not a mistake, but a virtue. However, I wonder whether Davutoğlu could come in first in elections it were not for Erdoğan? All surveys show that support for Davutoğlu alone does not exceed 5 percent. This is not something offensive, as nobody can have a base within the AK Party in the shadow of a leader like Erdoğan. The AK Party is identified with Erdoğan. In this case, where Erdoğan is unarguably the only leader of the AK Party, he expects the prime minister to act as his vice president in a sense.
The AK Party's new chairman to be elected on May 22 will assume this role, work in perfect coordination with Erdoğan and rapidly realize the policies that are needed for Erdoğan's 2019 road map. Who will the AK Party's new chairman be? According to those in the know, Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım; Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ; Energy Minister Berat Albayrak; National Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz and Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu stand out as potential candidates. Regardless of who the AK Party's new chairman will be, the abovementioned picture will not change. The AK Party has reached today without experiencing internal rifts. I think this is one of the basic qualities that distinguishes the AK Party from other parties. Davutoğlu and former President Abdullah Gül acted as wedding witnesses and hugged each other during Erdoğan's daughter Sümeyye's wedding ceremony on Saturday. This was a very significant message indicating that the AK Party is unified and will not disintegrate because of personal ambitions or fights. I think the AK Party will continue to move on its path based on this message after May 22. Davutoğlu bade a noble farewell that raised the standard of Turkish politics. I think he will always have an exceptional place in the AK Party in his political life, which is like a long-distance race. However, considering that frequent changes in management might weaken the party, the AK Party must head toward 2019 with its new chairman and prime minister who will be elected on May 22.