Foreign Minister Davutoğlu emerges as strong PM candidate

Ömer Şahin ANKARA / Radikal

Davutoğlu’s name has been much-tipped for the prime minister’s position, despite recent foreign policy struggles over Syria and Egypt. AA photo

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has emerged as a strong potential candidate for the prime ministry, after President Abdullah Gül’s recent statement appearing to distance him from the role.

Scenarios for a post-Erdoğan prime ministry are currently being reconsidered after Gül’s statement last week in which he president said he did not have “any political plan for the future under today’s circumstances.” The mooted Putin-Medvedev formula would lose its validity if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan remains committed to becoming president and paves the way for a scenario without Gül in the prime minister’s seat.

In such a scenario, Davutoğlu’s name has been much-tipped for the prime minister’s position, despite recent foreign policy struggles over Syria and Egypt.

Other circles in the party, who are concerned about the growing levels of polarization in the country, favor the name of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç and MP Mehmet Ali Şahin are also names being suggested for a possible transitional prime ministry term.