CUMHURIYET- Columnist Mumtaz Soysal comments on the latest developments in Turkish politics. A summary of his column is as follows:
It was an unfinished play; it started with the words, ‘Let’s set a date for elections for the sake of the health of the economy,’ spoken by Dervis out of the blue and causing people to say, ‘Where did that come from?’ The aim was to make a change of the government, which was voicing some feeble objections to the ‘nationalist’ manners of the True Path Party (DSP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) vis-a-vis issues which the European Union and the US are sensitive to, and so as to clear obstacles before Turkey’s ‘road of civilization.’ The phrase ‘road of civilization’ belongs to Mesut Yilmaz. Since he repeats this phrase all the time, it’s been ascribed to him. The plan was to attract votes by ‘becoming the champion of Turkey’s EU bid’ with the early elections, but many entrepreneurs grew impatient, which was felt mostly through the pressure of business circles in Istanbul. This last initiative, which had the smell of the EU, the US and the International Monetary Fund, was directed at spoiling the government without waiting for early elections. Then MHP leader Bahceli sensed this and set forth his final opinion in scathing terms for an earlier election, which uncovered the conspiracy of Dervis, Ozkan and Cem within the DSP.
However, this unfinished conspiracy was frustrated and its plans spoiled. Thus the first act ended with an air of complete failure, misery and internal unfaithfulness for the entrepreneurs, and Turkey faced the EU laws which were enacted in a panic to be used as elections fodder.
Now the same actors have lifted the curtain on the second act of the play. The non-governmental organizations (NGOs), mostly from Istanbul, have ‘made an action plan’ with the leadership of a foundation that sees a remedy for Turkey’s development in foisting the nation on the EU; Verheugen, forgetting, his negative words from only a few days ago, said from Brussels that he wanted a stable government favoring Europe to be established on Nov. 3; Yilmaz struck a pose to find a pretext for postponement in the MHP applying to the Constitutional Court to annul harmonization laws, thus sparking a government crisis; and Cem expressed agreement with him.
However, the advantage of playing the European card in the elections has fallen, and even turned out to be a disadvantage because the EU’s policy of lassoing Cyprus and leaving Turkey out has been clearly exposed.
The muddle-headedness of those who try to govern Turkey through Europe remind me of teenagers who get crushes on their teachers, forget about their other courses and then flunk. However, this republic should have been mature enough to put itself in order rather than losing its self-control in pursuing hopeless puppy-dog love affairs.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION