The resignation of Ali Babacan, a respected former economy minister, from Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has unleashed a fresh wave of excited speculation about the prospects that he might form and lead a rival center-right party.
In a statement explaining why he quit the party he co-founded in 2001, Babacan cited “deep differences” between his personal principles, values and ideas and those manifested in the AKP's current trajectory. “Given Turkey’s current circumstances,” Babacan said, “Turkey is in need of a brand new vision for the future. Embarking on a new effort for Turkey’s present and future has become inevitable. [Myself] and many of my friends feel a great and historic responsibility toward such an effort.”
