AKP considers coalition options with CHP, MHP

Nuray Babacan - ANKARA

DHA Photo

As the Justice and Development Party (AKP) continues to consider possible coalition scenarios, its leader and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has told his party’s senior members that a coalition with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would be “compatible,” while a coalition with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) would bring “more solutions.”

“A coalition with the MHP would be compatible, but problems would be solved with the CHP. I am concerned about the fact that coalitions do not last a long time. For this reason, we must be prepared for an early election as of today,” Davutoğlu told his central executive board meeting in Ankara on June 11, according to sources.

Davutoğlu and his party’s senior figures were discussing coalition scenarios in detail as none of the four political parties entering parliament received enough votes in the June 7 elections to form a single-party government. With the AKP netting more than 18.86 million votes, or 40.87 percent of the total, Davutoğlu has the right to form a coalition government in line with the law and political norms.

He reportedly told AKP senior members that the party’s grassroots would be more comfortable in a coalition with the MHP, but the CHP is more enthusiastic about being in government and the AKP would work better with the CHP to “find solutions to certain problems.”

Davutoğlu also said they should use the current situation between CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and former CHP head and MP Deniz Baykal “to their advantage.” 

“Kılıçdaroğlu will face difficulties if the CHP does not come to government. And we know that the MHP’s grassroots are uncomfortable with MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s statements after the election,” said Davutoğlu, referring to Bahçeli’s June 7 warning that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan should “remain within his constitutional limits” or consider resigning. 

Davutoğlu also said Turkey should hold a new election if the AKP is unable to agree to a coalition with another party. He warned his party members that an early election “may take place soon,” whether or not they are involved in a coalition government. 

“It is not possible for a coalition government to complete a term of four years. We are entering a process that is hard to predict. There is a high possibility of early elections and the party’s organization should be ready for this,” he added.

Davutoğlu has also established three teams for the coalition discussions. In line with this, he will lead the political debates while Mehmet Ali Şahin will monitor the legal processes and Ali Babacan will lead economic discussions.

He also ordered his deputies not to make public any statement about the coalition talks without his knowledge, and added that the AKP needs to “reform its discourses and policies” rather than its politicians.