ANKARA: The leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said yesterday that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had proposed forming a short-term coalition government or a minority government.
In a news conference after the CHP failed to form a government with Davutoglu’s AK Party, CHP head Kemal Kilicdaroglu said it was “not moral” for Davutoglu to retain the mandate to form a government, adding it was wrong to view an early election as the only alternative.
He also said Turkey had missed an “historic opportunity”.
Kilicdaroglu blasted the attitude of the AKP, saying it never showed any interest in forming a long-term and sustainable four-year coalition.
“We never received a coalition offer from the Davutoglu. He gave us only two options: A short-term election government or support for an AKP minority government,” he said at CHP headquarters.
“I believe that Turkey has missed a historic opportunity... It is wrong to view early elections as the only alternative.”
Erdogan has said he did not have the authority to extend an August 23 deadline to reach a coalition deal, but several commentators cast doubt on this.
“If he (Erdogan) thinks a government may be formed, he may extend this period,” wrote columnist Mehmet Yilmaz in the Hurriyet daily. “But he will not do such a thing because, indeed, he does not want a coalition — he favours snap elections.”
The pro-government press has in recent days published opinion polls suggesting the AKP would improve on its June 7 score of just under 41 percent if a new election was held. “Will an election change the result? That is unknown,” wrote commentator Abdulkadir Selvi in the pro-government Yeni Safak daily.
The main reason for the AKP’s failure to win an overall majority was the strong performance of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) which won more than 13 percent of the vote.
Critics have suggested that Erdogan ordered the security operation with the aim of discrediting the HDP by linking it to the outlawed PKK in order to harm its chances in a vote.
The government has denied the claims. Turkey’s initial air strikes against IS targets were warmly welcomed by the West but Ankara then triggered concern by concentrating its firepower against PKK rebels in Iraq.
US warplanes on Wednesday carried out their first air strikes against IS targets in Syria after taking off from a Turkish air base and analysts now expect Turkey may now play a fuller role in the coalition.
Agencies
