The Davutoglu era is over
As Davutoglu has no grassroots support, the prime minister's departure will be smooth.
Should I boast about being prophetic because less than 48 hours ago I informed my editor at Al-Monitor that the title of my next column would be “Is it time to write an obituary for Davutoglu?”
Perhaps I should equally and ironically be considered as shortsighted because only a couple hours after informing my editor, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had become a man of the past. His over-ambitious tenure as Turkey’s prime minister is over.
In a rift that evolved rapidly with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it was more or less certain that Davutoglu's head would be chopped off by the mighty and larger-than-life head of state, reminiscent of the fates grand viziers had in Ottoman imperial history when they came into conflict with the sultan.
A grotesque tweet by Claire Berlinski, who had been an expatriate and freelance journalist based in Istanbul until recently, put it sarcastically and rather bluntly: “Will Erdogan's deaf mutes now strangle Davutoglu with a silken cord?”
