ISTANBUL — Ali Babacan, a former confidant of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, formally applied on March 9 to launch a political party he said aims to expand freedoms, rebuild trust in institutions and repair the economy, in a rebellion against the ruling party that has dominated Turkey for nearly two decades.
The application for a new party with the Interior Ministry comes after months of delays and is aimed at giving Turkey a “fresh start,” Babacan said in a television interview earlier in the day. It is the second time in three months an erstwhile Erdogan loyalist has established a new political party in a bid to chip away at the government’s base of support.
