“We see no common ground for a coalition partnership”.
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The MHP has said it does not favour a coalition with the ruling party, but has hinted it could support a minority AKP government in the short term in return for a new election.
The two leaders met for over 4 hours Monday over the formation of a possible AK Party-CHP coalition government. However, the MHP previously stated their unwillingness to partner with a coalition government which includes the ruling AKP.
With barely less than two weeks left for Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form a new government, no major breakthrough has been made in the negotiations with the various Turkish political parties.
Some Erdogan supporters have already called for Davutoglu to be replaced ahead of an early election that could happen in November, blaming him for losing the AK Party’s majority in the June poll.
Davutoglu on Thursday requested to meet with Bahceli following the failed coalition talks between AK Party and the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
“Erdogan does not want to go there, because that would mean power sharing, and holding the elections with a government not under AKP control”, said Sinan Ulgen, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe and head of the Istanbul-based EDAM think-tank.
Efforts on Thursday by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to forge a coalition alliance with the country’s pro-secular party failed, edging Turkey closer toward new elections as it grapples with escalating violence. The lira currency weakened to a record low and stocks fell as much as three percent.
“In case our principles and conditions shared with the public are accepted, then the 46-year-old Nationalist Movement Party is determined to roll up its sleeves”, he said.
Erdogan has said he did not have the authority to extend an August 23 deadline to reach a coalition deal, but several commentators cast doubt on this.
The Islamist-rooted AKP absorbed a stinging election setback in June when it lost single-party rule for the first time since taking power in 2002, taking just under 41 percent of the vote.
Davutoglu has repeatedly denied accusations that Erdogan has secretly pushed for a repeat election to regain an AKP majority and accomplish his political aspirations.
The AKP has been in talks with the main opposition, the secularist CHP, but progress has been slow. “It would be better if the parliament decides on early elections through dialogue”, reported Bloomberg.
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The president announced on Tuesday that he would not extend the 45-day limit, signaling that he will call for an early election by disbanding the parliament.
