Turkey's Erdogan breaks silence, presses for coalition govt

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today called for the formation of a new coalition government as soon as possible, ending almost four days of unusual silence after legislative polls seen as a blow to his authority.
"Everyone should put their egos aside and a government must be formed as soon as possible, within the constitutional process," Erdogan said in his first public comments since the ruling party he co-founded lost its majority in Sunday's vote.
Erdogan insisted that the election result "certainly does not mean Turkey will remain without a government."
He said he hoped political parties will "prefer solution rather than crisis."

"We cannot leave Turkey without a government, without a head. Those who are condemned to their egos will neither be able to give account to history, nor to our people."
Although the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the biggest share of the vote in the elections, it lost its majority for the first time since it came to power since 2002.

Commentators are now expecting a coalition although Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday that snap elections were not ruled out should the talks fail.
The elections were also seen as a huge personal blow to Erdogan, who has dominated Turkey first as premier from 2003-2014 and now as president.

Erdogan wanted the AKP to win a super majority to push through a new constitution that would give him reinforced powers as president. But this plan has now been scuttled for the foreseeable future.
Erdogan said that the outcome of the election is "the people's will."
"Everyone must respect the nation's will ... Political parties should read this (political) picture correctly."
The president, known for his raucous speeches and being almost ubiquitous on Turkish television news channels, had not spoken in public since he cast his vote in Sunday's polls.