The Gul Alternative to Erdogan - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

The Gul Alternative to Erdogan - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East:

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Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd R) and President Abdullah Gul (2nd L), accompanied by their wives Emine Erdogan (R) and Hayrunnisa Gul (L), attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the third Bosporus bridge linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, May 29, 2013. (photo by REUTERS/Murad Sezer)

One of the questions frequently asked about balances in established politics and their future is whether an alternative could emerge from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) ranks to their hard-line leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and whether the balance that the opposition cannot come up with could originate from inside the AKP.
Of course, one immediately remembers the divergences between Erdogan and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, which have been going on for a while. At the root of those divergences are the personal political career disagreements between the AKP co-founders.
The contradiction originates from the Cankaya Presidential Palace calculations of Gul and Erdogan. Erdogan wants to take over the palace, but Gul does not want to leave it unless a satisfactory alternative is offered for his post-presidency.
Gul wants another term after his curren"

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