Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is stepping down and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will hold an extraordinary congress on May 22 to elect a new chairman and prime minister. Davutoglu will not be one of the candidates on the ballot. Sources in Ankara explain the process as the graceful exit of Davutoglu from a messy situation and preserving the AKP's status. Al-Monitor columnist Mustafa Akyol has provided a succinct account of the May 1 Pelican Brief blog that rocked Ankara and led to Davutoglu's downfall.

But the blog post was nothing surprising for keen observers of the AKP, especially because it was most likely posted with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approval.

The blog post, however, does not explain all the details of the complicated relationship between the two men. Erdogan's team has been signaling that Davutoglu's expiration date was fast approaching for a while. One senior Ankara bureaucrat told Al-Monitor in bolder terms, "Davutoglu was to be recycled, we all knew; the question was not if, but just when. It could have been later but certain events expedited the process."

Indeed, the bells had already tolled for Davutoglu on three remarkable occasions. First was in February 2015, when Suleiman Shah’s tomb was relocated from Syria. Davutoglu’s press adviser shared his photos with Turkish generals commanding the operation. That was a sharp blow to Erdogan's ego. The battle over who was the commander-in-chief was not one that Erdogan wanted to let pass easily, yet he seemingly did. Not many people could see Erdogan's resentment — even within his inner circle. Yet, like any shrewd politician, Erdogan was able to control his angst in public.