Former Turkish President Abdullah Gul is back in the news following the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) loss of the parliamentary majority it had enjoyed for more than 12 years, an unexpected development that has left it facing the prospect of joining a coalition or opting for early elections. There is much talk about Gul taking over the AKP after incumbent Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s poor electoral performance. Gul, along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is a founding member of the AKP and still has a base of support within the party. He appears happy, however, to sit on the fence for now, responding indifferently to the question of returning to active politics.
For the time being, Gul prefers the role of the veteran politician who dispenses words of political wisdom for the sake of the country's stability. According to media reports, Gul called Erdogan and Davutoglu after the June 7 vote to urge them not to push for early elections, but to concentrate on a workable coalition to head off further political uncertainty.
