BY ERDAL SAFAK
SABAH- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul getting ready to again seek the presidency is no surprise. On the contrary, it reflects a very natural and proper preference, because Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave him the final word on this issue; Gul was unjustly treated and his pride was hurt during May's presidential election, and outside criticisms of the process were a factor in the Justice and Development Party (AKP) winning more votes last Sunday.
Two remarks made by Gul were interesting. He said that Turkey was an open society and that our nation had protected institutional democracy. I have reservations about the first part. Unfortunately, Turkey doesn't deserve to be defined an `open society' yet. Firstly, open society envisages a society's development without any hindrance or manipulation by the state. Certain actions meant to provoke and manipulate and even certain murders are enough to show that Turkey is very far from this ideal. In addition, an open society requires absolute respect for both minorities and minority views. I don't want to talk about this at all. An open society also rejects interventions from outside the democratic system and argues that problems should be solved by constitutionally legitimate institutions. Finally, representative democracy is the open society's sine qua non. This is what Gul means by institutional democracy. Representative or institutional democracy is based on the separation and balance of powers and considers the legislative branch a first among equals.
This picture shows that Parliament has two priority duties:
1. Electing a president with free will and the broadest possible consensus. If it can't do this, let the people elect a president.
2. Making historical reforms which will end a nearly 50-year fight and broaden the limits of freedom.
Number two is possible through consolidating, that is, strengthening democracy with a new, civilian democracy. As Koc University's Murat Somer wrote on this issue, democracy should be turned into the only game in town, something to which there is no alternative.
Gul said yesterday there's no other country with $5,500 per capita income which can operate democracy this way. When this figure reaches $7,000 or $8,000, or $10,000 as the ruling AKP hopes, the infrastructure for `democratic consolidation' will be ready, because in countries whose per capita income reaches this level, democracy becomes the `only game in town.' If Parliament opens the doors to a historical consensus for a new construction of Turkey, we will enter a road to representative or institutional democracy, open society and democratic consolidation, a road from which there is no turning back.