MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila wrote on the results achieved by the leaders’ summit held at the Prime Ministry Residence yesterday. A summary of his column is as follows:
We can say that important results were achieved by the leaders’ summit held at the Prime Ministry Residence after a long interval. It seems that the summit has clarified many points characterized by the public as ‘uncertainty.’ The first result coming out of the summit was that the government is going to carry on its duties, and the three leaders of the coalition government reiterated their resolve on the issue. The three leaders decided to downplay the issues creating dispute and tension and instead focus on problems agreed upon. Therefore, Ecevit, Bahceli and Yilmaz agreed to leave aside such issues as the abolition of the death penalty, allowing broadcasting and teaching in Kurdish, and Cyprus. They decided to to work to resolve other issues which were placed among the middle-term commitments during their work throughout the summer. On issues of contention like the setting of a date for accession negotiations for EU membership, it was stressed that the EU should give more time to Turkey and that this was not a satisfactory reason to dissolve the government. The leaders’ summit also decided to convene the Council of Ministers, Higher Planning Council, and similar meetings periodically. In case Prime Minister Ecevit’s health did not permit his attendance, Deputy Prime Minister Bahceli would chair these meetings. All these meetings would be held with or without the attendance of the prime minister. This decision may be made to end the speculations centered on Ecevit’s health and to inject confidence into the markets. Thus the climate of uncertainty and the criticism leveled against the government will be eliminated. Another important decision taken at the leaders’ summit was to hold an economy summit as soon as possible. State Minister responsible for Economy Kemal Dervis, Treasury Undersecretaary Faik Oztrak, Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti and Banking Regulatory and Supervision Board (BDDK) Chairman Engin Akckoca will participate in this summit, which will also be attended by the prime minister and his deputies. The leaders also decided to work on erasing an early elections expectation from the minds of people. We can say that, following the leaders’ summit yesterday, the government will pass on to a working system not dependent on Prime Minister Ecevit’s health.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION