Yilmaz Makes His Last Move

CUMHURIYET- Columnist Hikmet Bila comments on Motherland Party (ANAP) Chairman Mesut Yilmaz’s recent declaration that the Motherland Party (ANAP) might withdraw from the government coalition. A summary of his column is as follows:
ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz is very successful in managing last-minute maneuvers. Even during the most desperate times, he knows well how to gain time and ground. And now we are witnessing another of his political maneuvers. Even ANAP’s political cadres have come to admit that the party will not be able to cross the 10% threshold in November’s elections. In contrast, ANAP’s age-old rival the True Path Party (DYP) has caught a good wind in its sails. Moreover, leading ANAP figures such as Erkan Mumcu, Yasar Okuyan and Bulent Akarcali had already burned their bridges with the party. All in all, ANAP was on the verge of being swept away from history and political scene, had Yilmaz pushed the button. Are the reasons Yilmaz put forward yesterday sound? No, they are not. Yilmaz blames the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) for its appeal to the Constitutional Court to annul the law abolishing capital punishment. Yet, there are certain questions which need immediate answers. It was obvious that the MHP would resort to such a move when it proved incapable of preventing the passage of the law in question on the day it was debated in Parliament. So, why didn’t ANAP, that day, declare that if the MHP made such a move, it would withdraw from the government? Moreover, Yilmaz says that the MHP’s attempts are useless and won’t work. If that’s so, then why is he so anxious about it? Another question: ANAP claims that the EU harmonization package which the party itself prepared fully complies with the Constitution. If that is true, why is Yilmaz deeply concerned about it? Yilmaz also suggested that the coalition couldn’t carry on anymore even as an election government due to the MHP’s appeal to the court. However, he is again far from being convincing because it was the very same coalition government until yesterday in which ANAP stood side-by-side with the MHP, which has said no to the EU package from the very beginning. Thus, Yilmaz’s reasons for a possible withdrawal from the government cannot be sincere. Nevertheless, Yilmaz yesterday opened a new path which could even lead to the postponement of elections.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION