Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was once seen a close associate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the president himself had the firm belief that Davutoglu would be one of those who would stick with him for better or for worse. But just several months down the road and Davutoglu’s stance in the open on some issues led to a rift between the two and showed that Erdogan could not stomach any of it.
The rift widened to a point that Erdogan demanded the removal of Davutoglu and it is expected to happen at an emergency congress of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the end of this month.
There are plenty of reasons for the fall-out between these two Turkish leaders, especially in the last six months, but there are ten clear reasons to explain this rift since Davutoglu assuming his post as prime minister.
- 1-Davutoglu had launched the restructuring of the party’s local branches and replaced regional figures which he was empowered to do by AKP’s own charter without referring back to Erdogan.
- 2-On the issue of peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Davutoglu had a completely different approach from that of Erdogan’s and believed that it could not be solved through the military and rather resumption of talks albeit indirectly was the answer.
- 3-The prime minister was for a presidential system and had openly aired his support but he differed on the approach Erdogan was seeking in which all powers be given to the president with a complete overhaul of the political system.
- 4-On the issue of freedom of speech Davutoglu as an academic and professor was “against any censorship on different opinion and the press,” while Erdogan had started a harsh campaign against the opposition media and even detained several academics on charges of supporting terrorism. Davutoglu found that unacceptable.
- 5-Erdogan expected an obedient follower in Davutoglu but the latter didn’t accept to become a shadow and on some occasions he expressed different views unappealing to Erdogan.
- 6-The question of migrants, the deal with the European Union and visa free access for Turkish citizens gained Davutoglu much popularity and made a symbol in Turkish politics with many followers.
- 7-The latest polls on AKP party’s fan base under Davutoglu showed 55 percent of the population to support the party which could be unsettling for Erdogan for that was never the case under his leadership.
- 8-Statements by European leaders who said they had signed the deal with Davutoglu and therefore was a different story from doing so with Erdogan who was being questioned for his crackdown on freedoms in Turkey. This angered Erdogan and he made reference to it in many of his public speeches.
- 9-The two had serious differences on the governance of the central bank. Davutoglu stressed that the central bank must remain independent and without political interference whereas Erdogan was trying to bring it under control.
- 10-It is also said that Erdogan hopes to mend ties with Russia. The downing of the Russian jet was on Davutoglu’s orders and by removing him Erdogan means to show Russia a gesture of goodwill for his intended reconciliation with Putin.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
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