Answers to Reader Questions

TURKEY - In Brief 25 Mar 2015 by Atilla Yesilada

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Dear Readers, I’m still convalescing, which regrettably meant that some of your questions went unanswered for more than 24 hours. I thought it would be a neat idea to answer them together so all our readers can benefit. Since I didn’t ask for permission, the names of the submitters shall remain anonymous. Q: I'm hearing there is chatter that Gul is forming his own party with other senior AKP members. Is there any truth to this? Is this a result of the Davutoglu/Erdogan split? What impact would it have on elections in June? A: These rumors have reached the highest echelons of the Cabinet, with Energy Minister Taner Yildiz being forced to public deny them. This being the case, I would not dismiss the possibility, but I don’t see the utility. Gul was invited back to the party and offered a seat in the upcoming elections, which he politely turned down. If he wished to contest the party leadership, that would have been the more conventional and convenient method than starting from scratch. I still think there is room for Gul in AKP’s future, perhaps if Erdogan-Davutoglu strife continues, as an arbitrating/refereeing party chairman in 2016. Yet, even if Gul were to launch his party now, there will be no impact on elections, because his entity would be too late to contest the 2015 race. Q: Could you please elaborate a little bit on the comments from the last weekly? How likely it is that CHP and MHP would work together, what kind of a polling scenario would you expect for the two of them combined if AKP support falls closer to 40%? What do we know about CHP/MHP policy proposals at this stage, especially on central bank independence, currency etc? A: At this stage my subjectiv...