BY OKAY GONENSIN
VATAN- The tradition in forming new governments is that the newly elected prime minister seeks the views of the president on the new Cabinet, and the list he presents is accepted without objections. But Prime Minister Erdogan didn't feel the need to act in the traditional way and made it clear the other day that he feels the president should approve the list he presents, stressing that the names on the list were elected. President Sezer yesterday reacted to this with a symbolic `bulk veto.' Seeing Sezer's leaving the task of Cabinet approval to the next president as a goodwill gesture is wishful thinking. Of course it is the prime minister who has the final word about the new Cabinet, but seeking a compromise with the head of the state in the exercise of this right is what is expected.
On the other hand, with his `veto,' Sezer showed that he didn't want to take any responsibility for the new government, which clearly demonstrates his deep concern over things to come. These concerns are, in fact, clear. It's well known that Sezer has secularist fears about the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its governments due to some of the manners and statements of AKP members. It's also known that the worries of the skeptics will only grow when Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is elected president. Sezer's veto is a sign that he shares the same fears and concerns. If he had done the opposite, he would have made a real gesture to reduce political tension. But he didn't, and so he showed that he belonged to the pole of tension. The president has worked as a real opposition against the AKP government since 2002, using his powers to supervise and restrict it. His last move is a part of this, and even the strongest one. Over the years Sezer has rejected hundreds of appointment decrees sent by Erdogan, and with this final move, he turned down the appointments of all the Cabinet ministers. Not approving the legacy of the new government both politically and legally, the president acted contrary to the expectations of the majority of people who want compromise and conciliation. This majority is in fact larger than just those who voted for the AKP. If he had taken this into account, Sezer would have expanded roads towards conciliation. But he refused to act this way.
Time will tell whether what he did was right or wrong.