Author: Selim Sazak
Organization/Publisher: Foreign Policy
Date/Place: June 25, 2020/USA
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 2639
Keywords: Turkey, Ali Babacan, Erdogan, DEVA, Muslim Democrat
Brief:
The author outlines a deep analysis of the Turkish Political arena’s new chemistry, highlighting the current situation in which President Erdogan’s old friends moved to challenge his power. Former Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu are contesting political power in relation to President Erdogan. While Davutoglu’s Future Party is on the same philosophical conservative line, which has been set by Erdogan for decades now, Babacan promises new directions. The author argues that some of the powerful corporate sector backing Babacan make his claims credible. Yet, party members of his party, DEVA (Democracy and Progress Party), are some of the old people who served under Erdogan. The author further observes that there is no change of blood in DEVA. For instance, one of Babacan’s predecessors as deputy PM, Abdullatif Sener, a veteran of Islamist politics and one of AKP’s co-founders, had resigned from the party in 2008 after publicly accusing Erdogan for turning a blind eye to some alleged corruption and mismanagement, while Erdogan accused him of being a supporter of Fethullah Gülen. With all these old participants in new roles, the author concludes that Babacan is “a market-minded Muslim Democrat.”
By: Maryam Khan, CIGA Research Associate
