Erdogan’s former ally announces the founding of a new party

Former Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan announced today, Monday, that he will submit a request to establish a political party, 8 months after his resignation from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.

He said: “We will confirm the name of the party during its launch program on Wednesday,” adding that his supporters will submit to the Ministry of Interior today, Monday, an official request to establish the party.

In July, Babacan announced his resignation from the ruling Justice and Development Party due to “deep differences” over the party’s direction, while his move to found a new party is seen as a move that could undermine support for the ruling party.

Babacan was a founding member of the Justice and Development Party, and worked as Minister of Economy and Foreign Affairs, before taking over as Deputy Prime Minister from 2009 to 2015.

Economic hardship in the aftermath of the currency crisis in 2018 wreaked support from Erdogan, while observers believe that any erosion in the party’s base – even a few percentage points – would harm the Justice and Development Party, which has already had to rely on an alliance with the nationalists to secure the parliamentary majority .

Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, also Erdogan’s former ally, founded last December the “Future Party” to compete with the Justice and Development Party.