Ali Babacan stayed with his leader until he was humiliatingly kicked out. He and his ilk cannot be saviours

I have been keeping an eye on Ali Babacan for a while. I never thought he is a bad person. However, I got gradually angry with him. He stayed with Erdoğan until he was humiliatingly kicked out of the economy team. He was, along with Mehmet Şimşek, the most proficient at economy management and he served its upkeep as an authoritarian regime was built up. He would still occupy his seat if Erdoğan did not prefer his son-in-law and a group of conspiracy saturated and totally incapable advisors.

It seems that the foundation of a new party that would be centrist, democratically and economically liberal is imminent and it seems that Ali Babacan is the most expected president for this new party. He is backed by Abdullah Gül, the former president and notoriously known as the notary of Erdoğan as he approved nearly all laws made by Erdoğan’s party and led the way to the current situation. What I feel like some circles in the West also prefer Babacan.

Ahmet Davutoğlu is sometimes listed with this duo and sometimes not. He does have less chance. Babacan seems to be the nice corporate type parents love. Davutoğlu, who is known to be very arrogant, had to give way to Babacan or establish another party. I guess he knows he doesn’t have much chance alone.

After the Istanbul defeat, all those resentful former leaders of AKP seem to have the courage to go forward. A photo of their meeting showed up recently:

The image itself needs some semiological analysis but let’s make that later.

I don’t think one should go hard on them as they continue to crack the one-party regime’s resoluteness. However, I find it still an intra-party tension that should be exploited by secular democrats. These people really stayed with Erdoğan. They are here because they were not needed anymore. As far as I know, none of them challenged the rule on time. None of them made a prideful exit. Maybe Babacan is now gone beyond to re-join the party but some of them, like Bülent Arınç ever the fickle, joined back after all the humiliation he was exposed to. I believe that the new democratic tide in Turkey can bring upon new leaders. Like İmamoğlu, about whom we had no idea two years ago, there can be new reliable leaders. We do not need remnants of an old regime who never professed their guilt explicitly.