HURRIYET- Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever writes on the changing political structure in Turkey regarding recent developments in the lead up to November’s elections. A summary of his column is as follows:
No matter how much it disturbs certain quarters, the dust is settling down, paving the way for a new kind of political structure in Turkey. Of course, the people whose calculations don’t fit into this new mold, who are afraid of dealing with it and who aren’t wanted anymore will try to shake the new balance in Turkey as much as they can. But we have to accept one thing: the Justice and Development Party (AKP) on the center-right and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) on the center-left are now to hold the most sway. The old cliches about these two parties such as ‘Islamist-fundamentalist’ or ‘statist-anticapitalist’ are still clouding some minds. However, Turkey has changed a lot and it is still changing. So those who resist this process of change will have to take their bow from the political stage. Having been witness to events all over the world as well as in Turkey over the past five years, one would have to be a fool to believe these old cliches spelled out above. The AKP has largely consolidated its position on the center-right, displacing both the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP), who both insisted on the status quo and resisted change, and thus experienced a political erosion as they lacked the people’s confidence and their leaders’ names have frequently been synonymous with political corruption. Whereas the CHP, which seems to have learned much from its tremendous defeat in the elections of 1999, has changed a great deal in terms of its structure and resolve to keep up with the changing world and it is determined to make its mark on Turkey’s future. All in all, this new politics will rule over Turkey in the new era.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION