ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's nationalist opposition rejected the idea of a coalition with the ruling AK Party and refused to support a minority government on Monday, further complicating Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's efforts to break a debilitating political deadlock.
After meeting with National Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli for 2-1/2 hours, Davutoglu said the two men had been unable to realise any of the options he had had in mind for breaking the impasse.
The news sent the lira currency
Davutoglu said Bahceli had also made clear his party would vote against an early election if such a proposal were to be put before parliament, a move which would make it difficult for Davutoglu to resolve the crisis before an Aug. 23 deadline.
Should he fail to do so, President Tayyip Erdogan is likely, under the terms of the constitution, to dissolve Davutoglu's caretaker cabinet and call for the formation of a new government with power shared between all four parties ahead of a new election in the autumn.
"It was not possible to realise any of the options in my mind during the meeting today with Bahceli," Davutoglu told a news conference in the capital, Ankara.
"The current state of affairs does not point to the possibility of a coalition. I will return the mandate if necessary after discussing it with the president."
Davutoglu said he would now consult members of his party and Erdogan on possible next steps.
(Reporting by Ercan Gurses and Orhan Coskun; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
