BY BILAL CETIN
VATAN- Next Tuesday Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will take over the mantle from Ahmet Necdet Sezer, becoming Turkey's 11th president. Obviously, this will displease a good-size chunk of society, certain public institutions and some opposition parties, mostly the Republican People's Party (CHP). But the AKP is very enthusiastic, even though it's taking care to keep these high spirits under wraps. Everybody in this party is generally pleased with how things are going. Most AKP members believe that when Gul is elected president they will be the full, absolute ruling power, and that everything will be much better in the months and years ahead both for themselves and the country. But a few people think that this success might actually damage the party. What's more, these people aren't ordinary deputies or party members, but influential people within the party's decision-making mechanisms.
Before it was announced that Gul was running, when intra-party consultation mechanisms were operating, some of these concerns were communicated to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. These can be summed up like so: `There might be serious tensions with certain institutions and some parts of society. We can't ignore them. No matter if we want it or not, the issue of the headscarf of Gul's wife will be brought up. He and his family will be upset and disturbed. In addition, problems and discussions among public institutions might harm the government, and this situation might have a negative impact on its performance.'
These views and ones like it were brought up in the Cabinet and before the AKP's Central Executive Board. Even during the meeting where the issue of Gul running was discussed, some AKP members and deputies suggested that a consensus should be reached with the opposition not over Gul, but some other figure. Finally, Gul was decided on, and these views and suggestions lost steam. The final decision was made, and now the AKP fully supports this.
But some question marks and concerns have yet to be addressed. Although AKP members have no doubt that Gul will be a very good president and successfully discharge his duties, some of them still wonder whether this situation will help the AKP or hurt it. It seems that all the stances taken by Gul, from the headscarf issue to appointments, will become subjects of discussion and debate. They know that for some time, concerns over secularism will keep coming up, and all the decisions taken by the government and president will be questioned. They also know that such an atmosphere might have end up hurting the decisiveness of the government and president. Meanwhile, Gul is very self-confident. He believes that even if there might be certain doubts and tensions at the beginning, he can overcome them and ensure harmony and cooperation among public institutions. The era ahead will be an interesting one for Turkey.