BY ERGUN BABAHAN
SABAH- Turkey is getting ready for new local elections, and the candidates are gradually appearing. Public officials are leaving their posts so they can run. Meanwhile, people quit or switch parties, just like in previous elections. Of course, politicians have the right to choose their parties, but they shouldn't compromise their principles. Such moves have hurt the image of politics. People should act more sensitively on such issues now.
As for the candidates, local administrations create the greatest opportunities to train political leaders nationwide. Belkis Kilickaya, our Paris correspondent, said that Mayor Bertnard Delanoe is the front-runner to take the presidency someday. The leftist mayor elected by rightist Paris proved he's a national player through his management of various projects, including building beaches in the city and starting a system of public bicycle rentals. So in selecting candidates, the parties shouldn't think about winning elections only in one place, but with the understanding that they're grooming the nation's future leaders.
Today the mayors of such cities as Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Adana, Denizli, Mersin, Diyarbakir and Trabzon are contenders to be the leaders of tomorrow. Political leaders don't grow in gardens. Local leaders who deal with people closely and see problems on the ground, and who are interested in all kinds of national problems and try to improve people's lives, will be received in Ankara like people who've earned Phd degrees.
So in the process of selecting candidates, party leaders and officials are also concerned about grooming future leaders, at least in certain regions. If local leadership positions are considered a university of politics and local assemblies are established in line with this, this would be an investment in our country's future. Then high-quality governance which starts at the local level has the potential of spreading throughout the country.