Davutoğlu evaluates Erdoğan's 'my last election' statement: 'He sees the local elections as risky'

With the local elections approaching, Ahmet Davutoğlu joined a live broadcast on Halktv to evaluate the current agenda.

Davutoğlu stated that it was not just Meral Akşener leaving the table that caused the Table of Six to collapse, noting that other factors were also at play, though he did not wish to name them. 

Stating that Akşener's offer of candidacy to Mansur Yavaş was met with Yavaş's response, 'I cannot accept this without Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's approval,' Davutoğlu said that the person he had considered as a candidate for the presidential election at that time was Hikmet Çetin, and that he believed this person was more suitable for the transition period. 

Davutoğlu said that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy was not explained correctly to the conservative nationalist segment, and that some wrong steps were taken and statements were made during this process, which he said did not materialize.

Stating that the preliminary work for the decision meeting regarding the determination of the Table of Six's presidential candidate was not carried out sufficiently, Davutoğlu said this was a factor in losing the election.

Saying "I spoke with Kılıçdaroğlu," Davutoğlu stated that he had warned him not to take steps that would disturb the base in order to prevent road accidents from the start.

Stating that they would support Mansur Yavaş in Ankara as a party in the local elections, Davutoğlu said that Ekrem İmamoğlu had not made any meeting request to them and had not explained his plans to them. Therefore, he said he could not express an opinion that Future Party voters would support a specific name in Istanbul.

Despite this, Davutoğlu stated that their voters in Istanbul would not vote for those who would build the Kanal Istanbul project, indicating that they were keeping their distance from the name Murat Kurum. 

ERDOĞAN'S 'MY LAST ELECTION' STATEMENT

Future Party Chairman Ahmet Davutoğlu evaluated the 'my last election' statement made by AKP Chairman and President Erdoğan. As someone who knows him closely, he said that there is a 'fear of losing' behind such a statement.

Davutoğlu said the following:

It is a statement I have heard from him for the fourth time. When I saw the 'my last election' statement, I thought this; when Erdoğan sees a risk in a matter, he starts to let his emotions speak more than his mind. I think he made such a statement because he sees the local elections as risky...

In my estimation, if polls are showing the possibility of losing Istanbul and Ankara, I am of the opinion that he conveyed an emotional message to stop the dissolution among his voters and to say 'this is the last term, do not panic.'

Other names may have felt compelled to make such statements out of concern to place Erdoğan's statements on a rational ground, as they foresaw the discussions this would create and wondered if the government would be left without a leader.

He told his own voters 'do not leave the ranks,' and the others made legal statements to prevent the risks these would cause.

AGREEMENT MADE WITH THE IMF

Ahmet Davutoğlu attributed the reason why Erdoğan, whom he knows, did not increase the retiree bonus to 5 thousand lira as he approached the elections, despite having done so in the past, to Turkey making an agreement with the IMF behind closed doors.

Davutoğlu said that austerity policies have begun and that Turkey has carried out a covert IMF agreement.