The resignation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayra has revealed the deep crisis facing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Albayra's resignation came amid a decline in AKP’s popularity and the deterioration of the political and economic situation in the country.
He announced the decision to step down in an Instagram post on Sunday, which was denounced by AKP leaders who said the decision caused serious damage to both Erdogan and the party and considered it an “embarrassing” reaction to the President’s sacking of the Central Bank governor.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said Albayrak’s resignation via social media was unprecedented and amounted to a “state crisis.”
It took more than 24 hours for the government to respond to the decision through a brief presidential statement indicating that Erdogan has accepted Albayrak’s resignation.
Many people in Turkey, including some officials in Erdogan’s party, believed the president was grooming the 42-year-old former businessman as a future party leader and even as a possible successor.
Meanwhile, sources close to the ruling circles in Ankara revealed that the Albayrak’s resignation came after Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu informed Erdogan about the intention of between 30 and 40 AKP MPs to resign and join the opposition Democracy and Progress Party of former Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and the Future Party of Ahmet Davutoglu.
Turkish political analyst Murat Yetkin said the resignation indicated double crises at the level of the AKP and his family.
He pointed out that Albayrak’s resignation is not like that of Soylu’s in July, who came back stronger.
“Albayrak’s step down did not create the impact of Soylu’s resignation move,” he stressed.
“When Soylu announced his resignation, within fifteen minutes his supporters began to hit the streets, while the letter of resignation published in the name of Albayrak on social media received 600.000 likes within a few hours.”
Babacan, for his part, said the resignation is a declaration of “bankruptcy” by Erdogan’s government, noting that Turkey’s economy won’t improve by replacing a figure or two.
