BY ISMET BERKAN
RADIKAL- Columnist Ismet Berkan writes on Turkey’s democracy. A summary of his column is as follows:
Maybe we’ve all forgotten the hard times we suffered during the last economic crisis. Today we’re enjoying an atmosphere of confidence. Maybe not everything is perfect economically speaking, but it’s clear that our country is on the right track. Over the last ten years, we’ve gone through many political crises. Now however we have a single-party government. We no longer fear a coalition crisis. There’s no doubt that these are all positive developments which have brought us relief. Turkey has taken concrete steps on its path towards European Union membership. Thus we all look to our future with optimism.
However, my words should not be interpreted to mean that our government is very successful and should thus be exempt from criticism. All I want to stress here is that political instability should not be considered any alternative to a democratic regime. In democratic regimes, if a party wins the general elections, it rules for a set period of time without any interruptions. Meanwhile, the opposition parties criticize the ruling party and prepare for the next round of elections.
Here we have an opportunity to protect our democracy. We have a single-party government, an administration whose current and planned actions need to be subjected to close criticism. However, I’m talking about constructive criticism, not purely hostile acts such as branding the government as traitorous or calling on the army to launch a coup, etc. We have of course our democratic right to criticize what we dislike, but we should never betray democracy just because we don’t like this or that government.
Unfortunately democratic patience isn’t yet a common practice in our country. We all suffer from political indigestion and impatience. Whenever a party we dislike comes to power, we suddenly begin seeking ways to overthrow it. However, we should learn that in democracies, ruling parties cannot be overthrown. They come and go as a result of elections. All we need is to learn how to stay patient and get ready for the next elections.