BY DERYA SAZAK
MILLIYET - Turkey will elect its president starting a few weeks from now, but there aren't any declared candidates yet!
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal says democracy shouldn't be like this; the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) is taking over newspapers, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn't declare he's running in order to prevent others from doing so, and Turkey is going to a presidential election under these conditions.
Ankara is curiously waiting for what Erdogan will do. His ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) two-thirds majority in Parliament makes Erdogan calm, but he's hesitant.
The possibility of the AKP losing this year's general elections after Erdogan is elected president worries the party. Some in the party believe Erdogan being elected president would create a synergy for the party, but others believe that the party, which was established as an 'interim party' in the wake of the 1997 'postmodern coup' and which won 2002 elections as a result of protest votes, would fall apart without Erdogan. (Note: Turkish presidents normally relinquish their party affiliation upon being elected.)
The AKP's recent internal poll over possible presidential candidates is a result of its hopes of keep power. If the party members agree that the party can't win the general elections without Erdogan, it could produce a presidential candidate which the opposition wouldn't oppose. This boosts Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc's chances. Besides Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Arinc is the AKP's top potential candidate.
Cankaya is a difficult equation for the AKP which seems easy. Erdogan will face difficulty due to possibility of his party losing power in the general elections if the True Path Party (DYP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) manage to win seats in Parliament.
The silence in the AKP before April 16, two weeks before the presidential candidacy procedures begin, is due to this hesitation. Erdogan wants to run, but can't see the picture if he's elected president.
The AKP is a young party and if it loses its second general elections, it would be difficult for it to preserve its presence. In fact, this ruling party made its own bed. Millions of young people are hopeless about the future. Turkey's economic balances, which are dependent on foreign debt, could become unbalanced at any time.
Maybe Erdogan wants to go to Cankaya to escape from these problems.