- The Putin-Medvedev rotating model, or Batman-Robin, as described on the cables of WikiLeaks, seems to be applicable to Turkey as well. This will not happen only if Erdogan appoints another politician instead of Gul. The second option is if Gul runs for president and stands against Erdogan as his biggest rival. However, serious analysts exclude this option because he has always played the role of the second person in the party. He was Prime Minister first, when Erdogan had a political ban, but six months later, when the obstacles were eliminated and Erdogan became a deputy, Gul unhesitatingly gave up the premier chair in favour of the natural leader of the AKP and became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Then just before the presidential elections in 2007, there was another shuffle. Millions of secular Turkish citizens protested in peaceful demonstrations in major cities against Erdogan, who was eager to become head of state at that time. Instead of himself, he sent to the cherished position in Cankaya palace his faithful ally Abdullah Gul whom he called his brother. Therefore, the first head of state with Islamist roots entered the bastion of Kemalism for the first time, along with the first veiled first lady, which was unprecedented in the political history of the country. In this period that was anathema to the military who had initially boycotted the election of Gul during state receptions. A few weeks earlier, on 12 April 2007, Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Army at the time General Yasar Buyukanit had published an ultimate memorandum that was later defined as a post-modern or electronic coup. The message said, "We hope that the lawmakers in the Majlis will elect a president who is faithful to the fundamental values ​​of the Republic, to its unitary nature and the principles of the secular and democratic state." After the second election triumph of the Party of Justice and Development, the organizers of these republican meetings, including academics, journalists, rectors, politicians, deputies, retired generals and many intellectuals and public figures were under trial in the "Ergenekon" and "Sledgehammer" cases, like McCarthyism in the United States (known as the "communist witch hunt" - author’s note). They were imprisoned in Silivri on charges of complicity in an alleged military plot to overthrow the Islamic-rooted government, without being proven guilty. The slogans of the innumerable multitude in the squares in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and other cities were, "Neither the U.S. nor the European Union, independent Turkey", "Neither Sharia, nor coup, independent Turkey", "We are Ataturk’s soldiers", "Turkey is secular and will remain secular". It has always made an impression that, after each election victory of the AKP and during the famous post-election speeches by Erdogan from the balcony of the party headquarters in Ankara, President Gul and their veiled wives Emine Erdogan and Hayrunnisa Gul stand alongside him. Kemalists have always interpreted this as an open message to the new state elite and a symbol of their revenge against ataturkism, expressing the victory of political Islam in Turkey. Therefore, I do not think that the two trusted partners will fight for Cankaya.
- Many Bulgarian citizens live in Turkey and they are usually presented as a monolithic group that invariably votes for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms in all elections. Is this true? Are there different attitudes among the Bulgarians in Turkey? Do they still identify themselves with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms in political terms?
- It is assumed that more than 150,000 people with dual citizenship, Bulgarian and Turkish, are entitled to vote. Exiles traditionally vote for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and they have proved this during all elections, including the latest ones. Korman Ismailov's party did not receive the expected support from its fellow citizens in our southern neighbour, which clearly shows the firm consolidated support for the movement of Ahmet Dogan regardless of the fact that it is currently headed by Lutfi Mestan. The Party of Justice and Development supported Korman Ismailov and the opposition Republican People's Party lobbied for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. On the other hand, all this shows that the majority of exiles still adhere to the vision of Ataturk and the secularism of the republic. However, the political Islam is gaining momentum among the exiles, especially in the periphery of the metropolis of Istanbul, but it has insignificant chances in the regions of Marmara, the Aegean and Thrace. The exiles in Bursa are an exception, as they are divided between the ruling party and the opposition, but the majority of them vote for the AKP.