MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen writes on the victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Sunday’s elections. A summary of his column is as follows:
According to the foreign media, an Islamist party won the elections in Turkey on Sunday. That’s how most foreign reporters know the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Some call the AKP ‘old Islamists,’ or some prefer labeling it ‘neo-Islamist.’ Although AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly rejected such labels during his election campaigns, the Western countries still tend to see the AKP as an Islamist party. However, Erdogan prefers to call his party a ‘conservative democratic’ one.
The policies pursued by the AKP government will show the world whether it is an Islamist or a conservative democratic party. It’s now the AKP’s turn to clean up its notorious image. The world has turned its eyes to Erdogan to see his next move. As a matter of fact, neither Washington nor Brussels was surprised by the results of the elections. Most of the foreign diplomats and officials fully expected the AKP to win. Their concern now is whether or not the AKP government will be able to continue to pursue its predecessor’s constructive, positive policies on a number of sensitive issues such as Cyprus and Turkish-EU relations. For instance, will Ankara continue to be a strategic ally of the US? Will the new government be able to fulfill the EU’s Copenhagen criteria?
Recent statements by Erdogan underlining Turkey’s EU membership bid as the country’s priority have eased the concerns of Western leaders. However, they want to see the actual implementation of the AKP’s program supporting the continuation of Turkey’s close alliance with the US, the IMF-backed economic program and efforts aimed at further democratization.
In brief, the new government is coming to power in the midst of a critical period during which Turkey needs to take important steps concerning certain sensitive issues. This might be an opportunity for the AKP to gain greater support and to prove its determination.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION