Future Party (GP) leader Ahmet Davutoğlu and Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) leader Ali Babacan, both former senior figures in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), have expressed a willingness to cooperate with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan if asked for their assistance, the TR724 news website reported on Monday.
Davutoğlu was asked during a program on NOW TV on Monday whether he would accept a vice presidential post if offered by President Erdoğan. “If they say, ‘The state is in trouble, the economy is collapsing, come and help restore it,’ I wouldn’t hesitate,” he replied.
The former prime minister, who led the AKP government from 2014 to 2016, added that he would reject any symbolic position, saying that “authority and responsibility must be balanced.”
His remarks came days after Babacan, who formerly served as deputy prime minister and economy minister, said during a recent live broadcast on the pro-government Akit TV that he had “no personal resentment” toward Erdoğan and “would not categorically close the door” to cooperation, although he saw “no will for change” within the ruling party.
Controversy over parliamentary photo
Both Davutoğlu and Babacan were recently photographed chatting with Erdoğan during the October 1 opening of parliament, a moment that sparked widespread criticism on social media and in opposition circles.
Several opposition parties, including the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), boycotted the ceremony in protest of what they described as the dismantling of constitutional democracy. CHP lawmakers left flowers on their empty seats to symbolize the absence of justice and the imprisonment of opposition mayors and MPs.
In contrast, Erdoğan was pictured surrounded by his ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, and opposition figures such as pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan, Babacan and Davutoğlu under the emblem of the Turkish Parliament.
Many journalists and analysts said the image served as a carefully staged photo-op aimed at showing Erdoğan as a unifying statesman and granting him political legitimacy at a time when many opposition figures and dissidents remain behind bars.
İstanbul mayor and CHP presidential contender Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested in March. Eleven CHP mayors have been jailed and others sidelined, while some opposition mayors chose to defect to the AKP.
Since last October, the government has pursued a two-track strategy of intensifying its crackdown on the CHP while courting the DEM Party and breakaway AKP factions as “acceptable opposition.”
Davutoğlu and Babacan, once close allies of Erdoğan, both left the AKP after years in senior government posts, citing concerns over growing authoritarianism and the erosion of institutional checks and balances.
Babacan founded the DEVA Party in 2020, a year after Davutoğlu established the Future Party. Both later joined the six-party opposition alliance known as the Table of Six, formed with the participation of the CHP, the nationalist İYİ (Good) Party and two smaller center-right groups.
The bloc sought to unseat Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential election but collapsed following the defeat of its joint candidate, then-CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Internal divisions and the failure to consolidate a post-election strategy further weakened the alliance.
In January the GP, DEVA and the Islamist Felicity Party (SP) announced the formation of the New Path Party, a new parliamentary grouping aimed at unifying parts of the opposition, though each founder party retains its independent political identity.
Kılıçdaroğlu dismisses rumors of forming new party
Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu has denied reports that he plans to establish a new political movement following growing speculation over internal divisions within the CHP. Speaking to the Nefes daily, Kılıçdaroğlu called the claims “complete nonsense,” signaling that he has no intention of returning to active politics.
The rumors that some pro-Kılıçdaroğlu figures reportedly discussed forming a breakaway movement to challenge the current leadership emerged after a court dismissed a case challenging the CHP’s 38th ordinary and 21st extraordinary congresses last week.
The lawsuit sought to overturn the results of the CHP vote on alleged vote rigging. That vote removed longtime party chairman Kılıçdaroğlu and elected Özgür Özel, who remains leader. If successful, it could have unseated Özel.