Türkeş drifts away from MHP's alienation policy, party starts to crumble

As the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced that they will not participate in Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's caretaker government, first cracks in the opposition front emerge from MHP as the party's Vice Chairman Tuğrul Türkeş, son of the party's founder, Alparslan Türkeş, accepts Davutoğlu's invitation and says that he will partake in the interim cabinet on Wednesday.

Türkeş's move came as a blow to MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's strategy aiming to alienate Davutoğlu's Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) within the caretaker government in order to score nationalist votes on behalf of the MHP. Türkeş reportedly will assume the post of deputy prime minister in the caretaker government.

Upon Türkeş's acceptance of the offer, MHP Vice Chairman Semih Yalçın made a statement later in the day saying that Türkeş had to resign or otherwise he would be expelled from the party.

Two other MHP deputies were invited to partake in the interim cabinet along with Türkeş. The party's Izmir Deputy and Vice Chairman, Kenan Tanrıkulu, resigned from his position at his party following Davutoğlu's invitation. Tanrıkulu said, he declined the seat in the cabinet and has resigned from his party as vice chairman as of Wednesday, as a reaction to such an "insolent" invitation.

The last invitation went to former Vice-Speaker of the Parliament and Istanbul Deputy Meral Akşener. The former Vice-Speaker Akşener, an experienced politican who also served as Minister of Interior between November 1996 and June 1997, has rejected the invitation.

Since the June 7 elections, the MHP is under fire from all political circles, including its own voter base, for its uncompromising stance in almost all of its policies, despite Turkey's urgent need for a government. This stance led to dissenting voices within MHP, a party which is long-known for its rigid leadership structure.

Earlier in the day, another dissident figure of the party, former Iğdır Sinan Oğan was expelled from party membership citing his recent comments criticizing the party leadership and a possible poor performance in snap elections. An influential figure in party's voter base, Oğan was not nominated by MHP in the June 7 elections.

Türkeş and Bahçeli were rivals in MHP's violent party congress held in 1997 after the death of the party founder and 28-year-old chairman Alparslan Türkeş. Bahçeli surprisingly won the tight race, and Türkeş left the party, only to return in 2007.

Alparslan Türkeş's younger son, Ahmet Kutalmış Türkeş, served as an AK Party deputy between 2011 and 2015 and resigned from the party shortly before the June 7 elections.

The name Türkeş still has a considerable significance in Turkey's nationalist voter base.