He expressed his belief that Erdogan would leave power if he lost the elections

INTERVIEW.. Davutoğlu: When I became prime minister, I tried to reform Turkish democracy

Erdogan and Davutoglu .. From alliance to hostility.

archival

Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu talked about the policy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and said in an interview to the German magazine Der Spiegel that he tried to reform within the party, but it did not succeed, adding that he believed that if Erdogan lost the elections, he would leave power.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

■ Davutoglu worked as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then as Prime Minister under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, why did you turn against him?

■■ There is not a single cause, or a particular incident, but rather several.

When I was a foreign policy adviser, and then foreign minister, I was in charge of diplomacy, and my powers were limited.

But when I became prime minister, I realized that the country needed fundamental reform in terms of democracy, rule of law, and transparency.

After my election success in November 2015, I introduced a package of reforms that included measures, such as changing the criteria used for submitting government contracting, as no official should be able to raise money at the expense of the public.

■ Have you personally witnessed incidents of government corruption?

■■ Yes.

When Erdogan became prime minister in 2003, he wanted to crack down on corruption in the state.

But these days corruption is more rampant than ever.

I wanted to fight nepotism, but my efforts went in vain.

After I left office, Erdogan's son-in-law became the most powerful man in the government.

■ I was in charge of the government when the army was waging a war against a part of the people in the Kurdish region.

Do you feel partly responsible for the decline of Turkish democracy?

■■ This description is incorrect, as that war was not against the Kurds, but rather an operation against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and ISIS.

If I were still in office, I would have ordered that this process continue.

■ Erdogan started his rule as a democratic reformer, why did things deteriorate?

■■ We were on the right track.

In 2010 we issued a package of reforms, which won great approval even from large parts of the opposition.

But the turning point came when the cleric Fethullah Gulen wielded brazenly too much power, causing Erdogan to become even more dictatorial.

As prime minister, I tried to reform the state, but failed to do so.

■ Your critics say you were Erdogan's puppet.

■■ Anyone who says I was a puppet does not understand Turkish politics.

47 out of 50 members of the AKP Central Committee signed a petition criticizing me, at the instigation of Erdogan himself.

Then they secretly apologized to me.

■ Why did you leave the AKP in 2019 and not before?

■■ I tried to reform from within the party, and my goal was not to overthrow Erdogan.

I wanted him to succeed as long as his behavior was consistent with democracy.

When I entered the presidential system in 2017, I said to myself, “Give him a chance, he might get better,” but my hopes were in vain.

■ In the aftermath of the failed 2016 coup attempt, thousands of opposition members were imprisoned even though many of them were innocent.

■■ You have to keep in mind the mood in Turkey in the aftermath of the coup.

It was an attack on our democratic system.

At that point I did everything I could to protect the democratic system, even though I was out of power.

■ Were you afraid of going to prison?

■■ Of course not.

I have my differences with Erdogan, but in the event of a coup, it is obvious that I will stand with the legitimately elected president.

■ Do you think Erdogan would accept losing the elections, if that happened?

■■ Yes, as the Prime Minister of Turkey, I guarantee that there will be fair and free elections.

■ Does Islam have a great importance in your party?

■■ Personally, I am a committed Muslim and I respect all religions.

Religious pluralism is one of the party's principles.

The founders of the party come from different backgrounds, there are Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Sunni Muslims and Alawites.

• My goal was not to overthrow Erdogan, and I wanted him to succeed as long as his behavior was consistent with democracy.

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