MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the economy and the headscarf issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
In Turkey, the economy set our elections’ destiny. Two huge crises and the ensuing strict International Monetary Fund regime spelled the end of the tripartite coalition. In the wake of the onset of massive unemployment and poverty due to the crisis, Turkey started to implement the IMF program and the early elections caused the government’s downfall. This is the chief factor behind the burst of votes received by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The headscarf issue isn’t why the AKP won 35% of the nation’s votes. This result shows that the Turkish people are expecting economic relief, jobs, social security, health and a good education system from the AKP’s one-party rule. The AKP should see this clearly and without illusions. If it misunderstands the voters’ message and priorities not as the economy, but as the headscarf issue, this would immediately start things off on the wrong foot. The AKP, which says that it had prepared for power, brought in a 35-year-old minister, Ali Babacan, to head the economy. Babacan had a brilliant academic career and has experience in both the private sector and the US. Babacan, taking over Kemal Dervis’ former post, seems to understand the nation’s expectations correctly. When I visited him recently in his office, the first things that he said were that he would place importance on social policies and that the AKP would add a social dimension to the IMF’s program. This was most glaring shortcoming of the IMF program, and it largely determined the results of the election. Emphasizing that 15% of the population was living on the edge of malnutrition, Babacan said that his priority issue would be to raise people’s standard of living. Babacan knows that the new government is luckier than its predecessor on this issue. He thinks that the opportunities afforded by the boost in national macroeconomic indicators will make his task of helping the poor an easier one. It’s also understood that he will bring a package with social aims onto the agenda during his meetings with the IMF. He emphasizes that unemployment is the biggest problem plaguing Turkey today. He says that social welfare, promoting the real economy, and policies designed to lighten the tax burden will accelerate the nation’s economic growth. Babacan seems to have a realistic view of our economic problems and the priorities, resources and policies which are needed to address them. When speaking with him, I got the impression that Babacan’s views were in line with the citizens’ expectations. This stance should prevail among the AKP administration and the government. The priority of the AKP and the government should be the economy, not headscarves.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION