Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül and former Parliament Speaker Bülent Arınç met yesterday for a surprise closed-door meeting after the nomination of Toptan. Gül, who has recently dropped strong hints that his bid for the presidency would continue, is still the only candidate for the top state post supported by the AK Party. Observers say there is no viable alternative to Gül in Erdoğan's mind, despite some media reports claiming that Erdoğan wants Gül to withdraw his bid for the sake of tension-free politics in the post-election era.

A meeting of the AK Party's Central Executive Committee did not discuss the issue of the presidential election, and the majority of media reports say Gül is intent on standing for president again.

AK Party lawmaker Toptan, who served as education minister and culture minister in previous governments, was announced as his party's candidate after consultations with party members and opposition parties. Toptan will likely be elected parliament speaker on Thursday. A former politician of the now-defunct True Path Party (DYP) of former Prime Minister Tansu Çiller, Toptan is considered acceptable to Turkey's secularist-military establishment as he does not have an Islamic background and his wife does not wear a headscarf.

The move also further boosts prospects for the AK Party nominating Gül for the presidency as it serves to mitigate the reactions against his election as president as a politician coming from the Islamic National View ideology, political analysts say. Nominating a moderate deputy to this position -- the second most senior post in the state hierarchy after the president -- Erdoğan plans to paves the way for Gül's presidency, experts predict. "I don't expect the AK Party to give up on Gül's presidency bid. Gül would be the AK Party's candidate unless he decides otherwise," Oktay Vural of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said yesterday.

Bülent Arınç announced on Tuesday that that he would not run for the office of speaker.

Hours before election of the parliament speaker, Prime Minister Erdoğan sent his party's senior executives to parliamentary political parties to seek their support for the AK Party's candidate in the election of speaker. After the July 22 elections, which gave the AK Party a landslide victory, Erdoğan had stated that he would seek to create an extensive consensus with respect to the presidential elections and these visits are seen as his efforts to keep his word.

AK Party Deputy Chairman Dengir Mir Mehmet and State Minister Besir Atalay paid a visit to the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) as part of the consultations with other parties. However, no meeting could be held between the AK Party and the MHP officials due to disagreement over timing of the meeting.

AK Party representatives met with Önder Sav, the secretary-general of the CHP, but the CHP stated that they would not lend support to the AK Party’s candidate though they would not nominate their own candidate. CHP leader Deniz Baykal is not expected to instruct his deputies to act in a certain manner in the upcoming election for parliament speaker.

The MHP said it would support its own candidate for the post. Sources say the party is planning to nominate its Aydın deputy Ertuğrul Kumcuoğlu for parliament speaker. He is expected to receive support from the Democratic Left Party (DSP), which recently parted ways with the CHP, and the CHP. The DTP, on the other hand, may support independent deputy Kamer Genç, who could also receive support from the CHP.

PM to strengthen hold on party with new Cabinet

The AK Party is also in a process of drafting a list of ministers for the new government. PM Erdoğan, who was asked by the president to form the new Cabinet last week, is expected to pick technocrats ready to follow orders and work like foot soldiers, not generals wasting time and energy on political polemics, sources close to the process of government formation say.

The prime minister has pledged the new government would be focused on further reforms and massive projects and gave strong messages of reconciliation, vowing to reach out to those who did not vote for his party as well to avoid political tension.

That means Erdoğan will need ministers who will follow his orders and avoid the polemics that could lead to political tension and undermine the government’s ability to work effectively. Observers say this will not be difficult to achieve because Erdoğan, who dominated the process of drafting the lists of his party’s parliamentary candidates before the elections, has already picked favorable names that will fit well into such a Cabinet.

For the last two days Erdoğan met with members of the two highest decision-making bodies of his party, the Central Decision and Administration Board (MKYK) and the Central Executive Board (MYK), concerning candidates for the parliament speaker’s office and the new Cabinet, and he is expected to make a final assessment in consultation with his 341 deputies before making up his mind.

In this respect, Erdoğan may have difficulty in removing from office some ministers who expect to continue in their posts. These problematic ministers include former Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek, former Interior Minister Abdülkadir Aksu, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and Finance Minister Kemal Unakıtan. Instead of these ministers, Erdoğan is seeking to work with Ali Babacan, who was the economy minister in the previous government, Health Minister Recep Akdağ and Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker and other figures suited for teamwork in implementing the new government program.


09.08.2007

ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA