Conservative parties merger fails as DEVA, Future Party talks stall

Attempts to unite conservative opposition parties in Turkish politics have hit a roadblock as negotiations between the Future Party (GP) and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) have ended without success.

GP is led by former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu while the DEVA Party is headed by former Finance and Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Babacan.

What’s next for these leaders and their parties?

The Deva Party was founded in 2020 on a liberal-conservative line, while the GP was founded in 2019 on a conservative line.

Both parties are made up of former executives of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and have tried to bring together figures who are uncomfortable with the AK Party’s policies in recent years.

The two parties supported Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the presidential election but failed to achieve the expected results in the local elections.

That is why the two parties held talks to join forces. However, the talks did not yield any results.

The two leaders, who previously collaborated with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for many years, have been leading conservative opposition parties and were in discussions about a potential merger.

However, the talks reportedly faltered due to Davutoglu’s ambition to be the presidential candidate.

In a recent broadcast, Davutoglu stated: “A party leader should represent the name and logo of the other party and lead it.”

He noted DEVA Party committees opted to pursue “the formation of a parliamentary group without the agenda of merging.”

In response to Davutoglu’s comments, DEVA Party spokesperson and General Vice President Idris Sahin denied responsibility for the breakdown of the negotiations.

Sahin posted on social media, saying:

“The primary reason for the failure to reach an agreement during the commission discussions and between the leaders was the insistence on identifying and announcing the presidential candidate in advance. When progress on the merger stalled because of this, the DEVA Party suggested an initiative to form a broad-based coalition in the Turkish Grand National Assembly.”

Idris Sahin (General Vice President of DEVA Party)

Meanwhile, the DEVA Party announced it will hold its 2nd Ordinary Congress on Saturday, Oct. 12, where current chairman Ali Babacan is expected to seek re-election.