BY EMRE AKOZ
SABAH- It seems Europeans will never understand how Turkish politics work. If you're wondering what makes me say this, Joost Lagendijk is exhibit A. Lagendijk is a leftist Dutch politician, and a Green. He's married to Turkish journalist Nevin Sungur. But what's more important, Lagendijk is co-chair of the Turkish-European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission. So we could expect him to better comprehend Turkish politics. But no! He was surprised by recent moves by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal. He expressed surprise over Baykal laying out the welcome mat for women wearing chadors, calling this incomprehensible in light of Baykal's past stance on the headscarf issue. Lagendijk also praised the CHP's development of a policy on the headscarf issue and said he hoped such courageous moves would continue.
Why is Lagendijk so surprised? Because principles have an important place in European politicians' minds. He can't grasp why such a politician, so outspoken on the headscarf (and chador) issue, who was eager to challenge relaxations of headscarf restrictions in court, made this move. He imagines there's a great conflict. When reporters asked him if he thinks Baykal is being sincere, he said that it was too early to say, and mentioned next year's local elections. Lagendijk added that we would see how serious Baykal is, but that he would like to consider it a positive move. In other words, Lagendijk can consider the issue only in terms of opportunism, because he said Baykal made the move to attract more votes next March. But he should also see that the CHP is the party of the bureaucratic elite both in its current senior management and historically, and also that group's political spokesman.
In light of this, the headscarf issue isn't a sociological issue, but a political one. If it was left to sociology, we would never have such an issue. Both the 'street' (social relations) and the ballot box (the reflection of the nation's will in politics) show this. As the problem was created politically, it has no real content. We now see politics built only through rhetoric, divorced from the nation's social problems. Because of this, principles don't bind them. Thus our politicians can move from black to white and from yes to no with a speed and alacrity that amazes Europeans. In sum, the CHP leadership can't embrace this issue without getting a green light from the bureaucratic elite. We should look at the military, that is, the core of the bureaucratic elite, in order to tell if it was a move made with an eye on next year's elections.