Journalist Ahmet Takan, who was an advisor to former Turkish President Abdullah Gül, claimed in his column in the nationalist Yeniçağ daily on Thursday that Gül is preparing for “something big.”
According to Takan, there are rumors about an increasing number of visits to Gül’s house and office in İstanbul. Among the guests are claimed to be old and new high-profile figures of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including a vice chairperson of the AKP.
“They are basing their hopes on Gül’s social media messages. They over-read Gül’s tweet following [then-Prime Minister, now President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan’s order to abolish TEOG [Turkey’s nationwide central exam for primary school students to enter high school] which said: ‘I hope that the current policy change in the examination system will be done with a multi-dimensional effort and especially in a way to maintain the principle of equality of opportunity.’
“They claim that the tone of Gül’s messages to the public will get sharper. On the other hand, prudent (!) Gülists [a clique within the AKP supporting Gül against Erdoğan in a quiet and moderate manner compared to rigid dissidents in the party] hope that the takeover will occur after the [independence] referendum of the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] of [Massoud] Barzani in northern Iraq,” Takan wrote in his column.