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Aide denies rumors of nationalist opposition’s ex-leader joining Erdoğan’s gov’t as vice president

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An aide to the former leader of Turkey’s nationalist Good (İYİ) Party has denied reports that her previous boss would join President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government as vice president, calling the claims “completely false” as speculation mounts following her withdrawal from active politics.

Former İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener’s aide, who spoke to Euronews Turkish edition on Thursday, said Akşener has “no political plans” and dismissed the vice presidency claims as baseless. “I wouldn’t even call it wrong, it’s entirely false,” the aide stated, adding that she had left politics for good.

The denial comes after Turkish journalist Fatih Portakal claimed during a broadcast on Sözcü TV that the former İYİ Party leader’s appointment as vice president was “almost finalized” and suggested she would be part of the government following the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) congress on February 23. The journalist speculated that she could take a position in Erdoğan’s government as early as March.

The rumors have fueled tensions within the İYİ Party, which has been experiencing internal strife and a wave of defections to the AKP following its poor performance in the March 31, 2024 local elections. The party secured only 3.77 percent of the national vote, placing sixth overall. In the aftermath the former leader announced she would not seek re-election in the party’s extraordinary congress and stepped down, paving the way for Müsavat Dervişoğlu to take over.

Her political exit was followed by a controversial meeting with Erdoğan at the presidential complex on June 5, 2024, which was never publicly explained. The closed-door discussion, lasting 40 minutes, raised concerns within İYİ Party, with senior party figures demanding a “satisfactory” explanation. İYİ Party Ankara lawmaker Koray Aydın warned at the time that failure to disclose the meeting’s content could create “a serious rupture” within the party and fuel suspicions of a secret arrangement between the former leader and the ruling party.

Adding to the controversy, Erdoğan recently withdrew multiple lawsuits and criminal complaints against the former opposition leader, including three investigations for allegedly insulting the president and four civil suits seeking non-pecuniary damages. While Erdoğan’s lawyer did not provide a reason for the legal reprieve, the decision has intensified speculation about potential political alignments between the two figures.

The former İYİ Party leader, once a fierce critic of Erdoğan, had played a key role in the opposition coalition known as the “Table of Six” in an attempt to unseat the longtime leader in the May 2023 elections. However, the opposition bloc failed to prevent Erdoğan’s re-election, and following the election, she was accused by some in the opposition of acting as a “Trojan horse” for Erdoğan’s interests.

Her softened stance toward Erdoğan in recent months has led to questions about her political path, despite her aide’s insistence that she has left politics entirely. In November 2022, Erdoğan had publicly invited the İYİ Party to leave the opposition bloc and “align with the nation’s interests,” an offer that was rejected at the time.

Meanwhile, defections from the İYİ Party to the AKP have continued. Most recently, İYİ Party Ankara lawmaker Kürşad Zorlu joined the ruling party on January 21, receiving his AKP badge from Erdoğan. Zorlu, who had once served as İYİ Party spokesperson, became the fifth lawmaker from the party to switch allegiance since the 2023 elections. The party’s representation in parliament has now dropped from 44 seats to 28, while the number of independent lawmakers has risen to 12.

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