MILLIYET- Columnist Derya Sazak writes about yesterday's Kemal Dervýs-Deniz Baykal meeting and what it might mean for Turkish politics. A summary of his column is as follows:
A surprise meeting took place yesterday between Economy Minister Dervis and the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, at the party's headquarters in Ankara. Officially, this meeting was just a forum for the economy minister and the party leader to discuss the problems plaguing the country. However, Dervis is no ordinary minister. Even while serving the current government, Dervis has expressed his support for the establishment of a new party under the leadership of Ismail Cem and Husamettin Ozkan. We asked Baykal about his meeting with Dervis and this is what he said: 'We discussed recent economic developments and agreed that everybody should adopt a positive, constructive attitude. We have elections coming up and time is running out for the necessary EU legislation to be enacted. In addition, a US operation in Iraq looks very likely. This is a critical period for Turkey, and careful analysis of the situation is needed.' So what will Dervis do? Will the CHP and the new party formation collaborate? Lately, the new formation has been criticized by circles close to Dervis, for limiting its members to the deputies who recently resigned from the Democratic Left Party (DSP). It is said that for this formation to be truly new, it needs new blood. Dervis will be leaving tomorrow to go to the United States. He will be there for 10 days. However, the new party is to be established next Monday, just a few days from now. So if Dervis is going to be in the States for the next 10 days, that means he will not be a founding member of the new party. The president, prime minister and possibly military circles want to make sure the economy does not falter before the US operation in Iraq which seems to be planned for the beginning of next year. The fact that Dervis is going to stay in the government could lead him to loosen his ties with the new formation. Alternately, it could increase his dedication to the new party. It still isn't clear if the CHP on the one hand, and Dervis and the new formation on the other, will work together at some point in the future. What we do know, however, is that at yesterday's meeting, Baykal and Dervis spoke to each other as close friends would and expressed their positive views on future cooperation without giving much away.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION