The AKP has already lost a significant part of its constituency after two other breakaway factions were formed within the last year ANKARA: The shocking resignation of Turkey’s contentious Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on late Sunday has revealed the ongoing rifts within the Turkish government regarding measures taken against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). But his resignation, which was rejected by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is especially crucial considering the political risk he could pose to the president’s leadership. Soylu, who has been in his post since 2016, resigned after the panic sparked by Friday’s abrupt announcement of a two-day curfew in 31 cities soon before midnight. He asked for forgiveness for the crisis management failure as crowds rushed to bakeries, gas stations and groceries despite social distancing measures — a move that was harshly criticized by opposition parties. Taking responsibility for the chaos on Friday night, his unconventional self-critical statement is rare for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), where almost nobody resigns by admitting a political mistake. “Emerging consensus is that Soylu’s resignation was more of a preemptive strike against his enemies who wanted him to be sacked by Erdogan over the curfew fiasco,” political analyst Amberin Zaman tweeted. As one of Erdogan’s closest confidants, the resignation of Soylu demonstrated intra-government frictions and hinted at the need for managing deepened battles within the state apparatus amid the COVID-19 epidemic. Soylu has reportedly been at loggerheads with Erdogan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, who is the finance minister. Daily Sabah, a Turkish newspaper owned by a businessman close to Albayrak, tweeted that he resigned over “botched” announcement of curfew Friday night after which 250,000 people flooded shops and bakeries. For some other analysts, Erdogan made a tough choice regarding this resignation because if he accepted this decision, Soylu might establish his own party or join another nationalist party within the parliament, further weakening the ruling party. The AKP has already lost a significant part of its constituency after two other breakaway factions were formed within the last year. Before joining the AKP, Soylu was also known for his harsh criticisms of Erdogan. Being originally from the Black Sea region and seen by many as a possible successor to Erdogan, he has his own power base with the backing of several Islamist and nationalistic segments of Turkish society. In northern city of Rize, considered a bastion of the AKP, a citizen threatened to commit suicide over his resignation but decided not to after police convinced him that the resignation wasn’t accepted. Crowds in Istanbul’s conservative neighborhoods also celebrated Erdogan’s decision to reject the resignation with car convoys and whistles. Soylu tweeted that he was humbled by support of the nation and president, and pledged to “continue work in the service of the nation” in his first statement after the incident. Soner Cagaptay, author of “Erdogan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East,” said that Erdogan’s policies have been guided since 2013 by a philosophy which he borrowed from Islamist thinker Necip Fazil Kisakurek, who once said: “Don’t let a brick fall off the defensive wall.” Cagaptay told Arab News: “His ministers serve until Erdogan fires them. If he lets one minister resign for a failure of duties, he has to face a barrage of requests for others to resign, so better to keep everybody in their position.” Cagaptay said this resignation is a sign of deep divisions inside the Palace, but Erdogan ultimately would not allow them to surface and he will not let any other ministers to resign from now on. “If he allows anyone to leave, his entire cabinet and himself could come under fire. The winner yesterday was Erdogan’s survival instincts for not letting a brick fall off the wall,” he added. Transport Minister Cahit Turhan was recently removed from his post following criticism for holding a tender for the Canal Istanbul megaproject amid the COVID-19 outbreak. “For some time, there were intra-party factional fights between groups linked to Albayrak and Soylu as the two most powerful ministers in the cabinet. “Soylu’s resignation is a sign that these rifts could no longer be suppressed amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, especially in light of the curfew controversy on Friday evening,” Berk Esen, a political analyst from Ankara’s Bilkent University, told Arab News. “Soylu may have preempted strong criticism coming from his rivals by resigning to compel Erdogan to declare support for his interior minister, lest Erdogan risk creating a political crisis,” he said. He added that Soylu has a strong base within the state security apparatus and enjoys high popularity in nationalist circles — including the AKP’s main political ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) — due to his aggressive tactics against the pro-Kurdish HDP. “With Erdogan’s open support on Sunday evening, Soylu has elevated himself above all other cabinet ministers and strengthened his position immensely. He is now a force to be reckoned with and demonstrated that he has the support of the MHP. “The pandemic has already uprooted Turkish politics and will probably weaken the AKP in the coming weeks. Whether or not Soylu can spare himself from the crisis is to be seen,” Esen said.