STAR- Columnist Omer Celik writes on Turkey’s latest political crisis. A summary of his column is as follows:
In this country, we’ve unfortunately gotten used to seeing crises dominating the political agenda. Although Turkish politicians seem on the surface to be addressing very different subjects, the favorite topic of behind-the-scenes discussions is in fact how to normalize politics and overcome our current crisis. Since there’s always been a tense relationship between Turkey’s economic and political dynamics, the decision to hold early polls has made political and business circles anxious but also meant an opportunity for advancement of the country’s economic and political life. This tension stems from the peculiar characteristics of our political structure. In Turkey, politics has always been defined as a series of power clashes between certain bureaucrats; in other words, it has always eluded being depicted in its original sense. Since modernization has never touched Turkey’s daily life as much as its political institutions, politics have been confined within the brick walls of these institutions. The crisis we’re currently going through must be considered an opportunity to overcome this political impasse. The crisis has, in fact, cleared the political landscape of considerable artificial clutter. The parties which have failed to develop effective solution proposals in the midst of this crisis have become smaller and weaker.
The only way to overcome this crisis is to normalize politics. The first move we must take is to remove all the obstacles standing in the way of this normalization. If circles which are not bona fide members of political institutions persist in intervening in politics, the dissolution of these institutions will continue and the situation will surely worsen, which is likely to culminate with a chronic crisis. Under such circumstances, it would be impossible to prevent the economy being hurt by such a crisis. Political parties should see the crisis as an opportunity. Being a good politician means developing rational policies to solve difficult problems as well as taking effective moves to address these issues. It’s politically unethical to develop irrational strategies which defy reason merely to woo more votes. Believe me, this time voters won’t be taken in such irrational, self-serving demagoguery. Now voters are only interested in how their living standards can be improved and a better political structure established. It seems to me that today the only guarantee we have for a better future in this country is the crisis we’re undergoing.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION