CUMHURIYET- Columnist Orhan Birgit writes on the completion of the third year of the coalition government. A summary of his column is as follows:
The completion of the Ecevit government’s third year in office is a first in Turkish coalition politics. The Ecevit government, which is a compromise between the nationalist right and the left, is the longest-running coalition government in the republic’s history. The prime minister will explain the performance of his government over the last three years to the public in a press conference, and we can say that among the headlines will be the passing of laws on banking, telecommunications, tax reform, the abolition of regional directorates with aim of slimming down the state, adding that the hope Turkey has passing through its economic crisis has grown. There are rosy pictures the government can paint, but it is clear that the most important problem awaiting the government will be the discussions regarding the relations with the EU. The initiatives directed at softening the MHP’s resistance concerning arrangements to be made in our laws on the complete abolition of the death penalty and education in mother tongue languages are becoming increasingly important. In addition to a message Ecevit has sent to a newspaper on the issue, the leaders’ summit to be held in Cankaya will be of historic significance. Another important issue is that the tense relations between the prime minister and the president have given way to a more civilized approach in a country where there are those like Tayyip Erdogan who tries to change the agenda by harping on the health of the prime minister, the president’s policy demonstrate a guiding approach. Considering all these points in favor and the presumptions that the coalition cannot live much longer, the minds of the voters are boggled. This confusion helps the parties in power. If they can pull themselves together, eliminate the frictions with the EU, and do not make any concessions from the economic policy they are pursuing, they will see that they have to answer the expectations of the public regarding the changes in the law concerning political parties and elections.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION