As Davutoglu exits, Erdoganists demand 'obedience to the leader'
The departure of Ahmet Davutoglu as prime minister marks the opening of a new narrative that makes obedience to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a religious duty.
These days, Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is making farewell visits to the heads of various state institutions, from the military to the Directorate of Religious Affairs. On May 22, at the snap congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), he will be replaced by a new party chair and a new prime minister. All of Turkey knows by now that this new man will keep a low profile and be fully obedient to the master of the show: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
It can be safely said that Davutoglu's departure marks even greater concentration of power in the hands of Erdogan. The new power structure includes a new Erdoganist narrative, in which obedience to the leader is openly praised as a virtue — and required as a duty.
