Can Ahmet Davutoglu step out of Erdogan's long shadow?

Can Ahmet Davutoglu step out of Erdogan's long shadow?
By Euronews with REUTERS
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He simply tweeted : “Thanks be to God,” when the election result was in the bag. But many may be saying, thanks be to Ahmet Davutoglu, who has

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He simply tweeted : “Thanks be to God,” when the election result was in the bag.

But many may be saying, thanks be to Ahmet Davutoglu, who has stepped out of the shadows of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey’s Prime Minister was at the forefront of this election campaign, compared with June’s election when the president took the lead role.

It was hoped that he would be the one who would lead the AKP after Erdogan, but was criticised harshly when the party (his first election as PM) could not get the majority in this year’s first general election.

The question that many are posing is: will he continue to play second fiddle to the president or will he find a way to assert himself after this stunning victory?

The big problem lies in the fact that despite being prime minister and leader of the AKP, a role he has held since 2014, Erdogan, to all intents and purposes, controls the party.

The result does mean at least the president will not get the mandate to change the constitution in his favour. He has long held aspirations to turn his largely ceremonial position into a strong executive post.

And the chances are he will be happy to continue ruling the roost from the presidential palace.

Elhamdülillah…

— Ahmet Davutoğlu (@Ahmet_Davutoglu) November 1, 2015

Davutoglu the academic started out as chief advisor to the foreign minister in 2003 and to the prime minister.

Well before he stepped up to the role of foreign minister in 2009 he was widely regarded and respected as the architect of Turkish foreign policy.

His view was that Turkey, as well as being amenable to the West and the United States, should look equally to the East and become more independent.

Professor Davutoglu has published several books and articles on foreign policy in Turkish and English.

His books and articles have also been translated into several languages including Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Persian and Albanian.

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