Are you ready for an AK Party without Erdoğan?
A new day is starting. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is not only nominating its presidential candidate; it is also closing one chapter and opening another one.
We will go through a stage when we will be very curious. We will waste time with a lot of gossip, scenarios and names.
Everybody is trying to figure out what is going on in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s mind, including those who want Abdullah Gül to head the AK Party, or those who want Ahmet Davutoğlu, or those who want Bülent Arınç for the transition, or those who would give a chance to a technocratic prime minister in the style of Binali Yıldırım, or those who expect a low-profile jewel to come out of the hat.
Since mind-reading methods have not yet reached the level of giving concrete results, this business will continue to telling fortunes.
The first step of an AK Party without Erdoğan is being taken. If we are not thrown a curve ball, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be declared as the AK Party’s presidential candidate today. This will also mean his official discharge from the AK Party.
Will Erdoğan actually cut his ties and let go of the ropes? That part is doubtful, very doubtful. It is obvious that he will not walk up to the Çankaya presidential mansion without taking a look back.
Today’s declaration, while it will discard one uncertainty, will open the door to another. Until the end of the presidential election, it looks as if these smoke clouds will not disperse.
The first vagueness is who will head the party and over the government after Erdoğan.
The second is whether or not this person will be a caretaker.
The third is, if this person is a caretaker, whose caretaker will he be? Will he be the caretaker of Erdoğan, or a name like Gül who will occupy the seat after the transition period?
The fourth is, if he is not a caretaker, even though he will take from Erdoğan, will he be a person who has a stance, who has a specific weight, a strong and astute person, such as Ahmet Davutoğlu or Bülent Arınç?
The fifth is, which one of these options will be better in holding together the AK Party grassroots, top administration, the Cabinet and the parliamentary group?
The sixth is that it will not be easy to fill that seat after Tayyip Erdoğan. As a matter of fact, without Tayyip Erdoğan’s approval and support, it will not even be possible to occupy that seat.
However, there is also an administrative class of the party, and without its approval it will also be quite difficult to manage a giant organization like the AK Party, turn the wheels of the government, keep the parliamentary group together, and in addition to all this maintain the support of the majority of the people in general elections.
The person who possesses these qualifications can only be one who is both a caretaker and independent, both a balance keeper and a strong character, both popular among the people and among the elites of the party.
You decide who fits this description.
Also, pay attention to the profile of the heir who Erdoğan describes. However, he will not give any clues in his speech today.
We will have uncertainties that will not be solved today, but these uncertainties will again be solved within the AK Party.
A new day is starting with excitement, adrenalin, plenty of lobbying and whispering. It is a day that will kill the cat with curiosity. Good luck with it!