A final round of talks between the delegations of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has taken place on August 13th. The leaders failed to agree on forming a coalition government and the current situation is leading to early elections.
The political situation due to the lack of government has reached a boiling point: Turkey is involved in two fronts of war with IS, as well as the Kurdish separatists in Syria. The country has never had an economic downturn. Russia's interests, including the Turkish Stream, are also under threat, as the absence of a government delays the signing of the agreements.
Difficulties in Erdogan's party began after the parliamentary elections. The three other parties that entered the parliament are its opponents, and none of them agreed to merge with the AKP. Erdogan pulled up to the last, but in the end a little more than a month after the elections, on July 9 he gave the prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, a mandate to form a cabinet.
Until a new government is formed, the previous one retains power, although formally all of its members have already resigned. The new government must be formed within 45 days of receipt of the mandate. So Davutoglu has some time until August 23.
Vestnik Kavkaza decided to ask Turkish politicians and experts about the upcoming events after yesterday's failure.
Political scientist Farouk Lokoglu noted that the main reason for the failure of negotiations was the refusal of the SDP to form a coalition on a long-term basis, "the CHP proposed creating a coalition government on a long-term basis, but Prime Minister Davutoglu refused."
According to him, a coalition could only be short-term, and then it would be necessary to hold early elections. This is the main reason for the failure of negotiations to establish a government with the participation of several parties.
"I consider that the ruling party will try to re-elect the parliament after 45 days,’’ he concluded.
Political scientist Karam Khas spoke about the impossibility of a coalition government because of disagreements on a number of issues and said he is sure early elections are going to take place in Turkey soon.
"The parties have differences on issues such as the settlement of the Kurdish problem in the country, the crisis in Iraq and in Syria, national reconciliation, problems in public administration, as well as freedom of the press and religion. And so I think that the situation is beneficial for the nationalists,’’ he said, hinting at success for the National Movement Party (MHP), headed by Devlet Bahceli. He noted that Turkey is involved in a war against the Kurds and IS. This creates a threat to its national security. "It will be clear in the next 3-4 months after new elections," Haas said.
Togrul Ismail, Associate Professor at the School of International Relations, University of TOBB Economics and Technology (Ankara), spoke about the danger if the country remains without a government. He noted that the era of one-party government in Turkey has ended. The economy is showing negative growth, and there is a decline in some areas. Turkey is in a critical condition.
