A cracked alliance

The People’s Alliance between Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has cracked open as the elections got nearer.

The two parties formed an alliance back in February and nominated Erdogan for president when he called snap elections in April.

But soon after, annoyance and tension among the partners began to surface.

The government did not respond to MHP leader Devlet Bahceli’s repeated calls for general amnesty.

Cumhuriyet reported on 12 June that each party accused the other of gathering votes from its own constituency.

AKP’s failure to make any reference to their alliance while campaigning bothered the nationalists deeply.

Two days before the elections, Bahceli appeared on television and warned the AKP candidates that “No one can ignore, buy off or exploit MHP”.

His comments reinforced the feelings of regret among the AKP ranks. They could have more seats by leaving MHP alone, as polls indicate that the party couldn’t pass the 10 per cent threshold to enter parliament.

According to AKP’s own surveys, MHP will even fall short of the 20 seats needed to form a group in the parliament.