Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, announced his candidacy yesterday for the post of president for the second time, defying secular and military reservations about the prospect of a man with an Islamist past occupying the job that is seen to embody the secular republic.

When Mr Gul was nominated for the post by the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) in April, a political crisis ensued that resulted in a general election last month, which the government won handsomely. Circumstances are different now, not least because of the election victory. But the battle lines drawn in the debate about his candidacy will not be relinquished easily in a country seeking to reconcile its secular foundations with the rise of a popular, socially conservative, right-wing party that has roots in political Islam.