Azernews.Az

By Rufiz Hafizoglu

Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will start talks July 13 with the leaders of the parties which got the right to be represented at the parliament as a result of the parliamentary election held June 7.

Earlier, the representatives of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) said that they will hold negotiations with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP), while creation of a coalition with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is out of question.

However, there are serious obstacles to forming a coalition government in Turkey. The party leaders with whom the talks will be held, have serious doubts.

What hinders the creation of a coalition government between the Justice and Development Party and the republicans?

First, these parties contradict with each other in terms of ideology. However, they have a similar attitude to the process of democratic settlement of the Kurdish problem that started in 2009 at the initiative of the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Moreover, both parties support Turkey’s accession to the European Union. Even if the country doesn’t achieve that goal, these parties will support the reforms for the country’s democratization.

The main disagreement between these two parties is related to the country’s foreign policy, in particular, Ankara’s Syria policy.

The Republican People's Party has always opposed the ruling party’s policy on Syria, urged the authorities to expel Syrian refugees from the country and close the borders with Syria. These disagreements are the main obstacles to creation of a coalition government between these two parties.

Namely the Republican People’s Party has nearly always been the main rival for the ruling party and all the success of the “New Ottomans” as they are called in Turkey, were based on the political mistakes of the republicans. By forming a coalition government with CHP, the Justice and Development Party can lose its reputation among the people.

Coalition between the Justice and Development Party and the Nationalist Movement Party

The viewpoints of the Justice and Development Party and the Nationalist Movement Party are very similar. Although MHP was criticizing the AKP, it was pursuing a moderate policy with respect to the authorities as district from the CHP. Even at the height of the events on Taksim Square in 2013, the party’s supporters didn’t participate in the mass protest actions as district from the supporters of CHP and HDP.

That time, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party called on the party’s supporters to fight the government only through democratic means.

Moreover, these two parties have almost the same policy in the Syrian issue.

The main disagreements between the ruling party and MHP are related to the democratic settlement of the Kurdish problem. Moreover, constant criticism of the country’s president by MHP leader Devlet Bahceli makes this coalition more fragile.

The Justice and Development Party has already decided on the priorities of the new government including combating the movement of Fethullah Gulen [Islamic public figure currently residing in the US] and the democratic settlement of the Kurdish problem.

If Turkey fails to form a coalition government, it is expected to form an interim government in the country till the early parliamentary election.

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