Dominating the conversations was the upcoming presidential elections that will be held in May. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's term ends May 5, but with only several months left, candidates for the presidency have not been announced yet. As the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) holds the majority in Parliament, it will determine who the next president will be. There is an ongoing debate about the possible presidency of the current prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Arınç said he would approve any name proposed by Erdoğan. Whether Erdoğan will stand as a candidate himself or propose somebody else is on everyone's mind. If the prime minister does harbor presidential ambitions, could Erdoğan's presidency be approved by the military. Actually no one really knows.Milliyet's Taha Akyol refers to Arınç's statements: "Erdoğan still has much to contribute to this country with his dynamism and charisma. Turkey should not drift toward coalition governments again. With the experience of the past five years past, Erdoğan will help Turkey gain even more." Akyol says Arınç is looking for these qualifications for the new president: "He should have experience in state affairs, he should have vision, he should be libertarian, he should be in favor of the public and he should be in favor of opening his position to discussion," though he avoids making any direct comments on Arınç's statements.
Sabah's Ergun Babahan says Arınç disappointed people waiting for a different reaction. Babahan brings up Arınç's remarks on the main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) call for a consensus on the presidential candidate. "The CHP wants us to elect the name they want. If they pressure us too much we can just do the opposite. Such an attitude may radicalize our attitudes but we will try to reach a consensus on a certain name," Babahan quotes Arınç, without making any further comments.
Akşam's Ali Saydam indicates that Arınç has begun to attract more attention recently both with his activities and his statements. He thinks Arınç's recent behavior is very striking. Saydam recalls Arınç's previous remarks where he said the presidential candidate should be someone who was not exhausted in politics. He stresses that Arınç has made very outstanding statements marking the political agenda recently. Saydam hints that Arınç himself may be preparing for Çankaya.
Vatan's Mehmet Tezkan speculates on what the military would do if Erdoğan went for the presidency. "Will the military block Erdoğan's way to the presidency? How will it block it if it does? By persuasion? By force?" asks Tezkan. He claims the price of resorting to force to block Erdoğan's presidency would be too heavy for Turkey. Turkey would become isolated. "Turkey will go back to 10 years," he asserts. He thinks that the military is very much aware of this danger so it will not take any action that would damage democracy in Turkey. This is not wishful thinking, he asserts, but the natural outcome of Turkey's EU aspirations.
