No Delight In Turkey This Week
Ailing Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's three-party government was on the verge of collapse after ministers resigned and his party mutinied in the face of possible early elections.
Ecevit's grip on power is slipping after two months of illness – and his woes have stirred conflict in his coalition. Four ministers resigned from Ecevit's government and his Democratic Left Party (DSP), and more than 20 deputies have also quit the DSP, sensing paralysis in government and the party under the control of the ailing 77-year-old.
Coming up with a plan for a new government has proved difficult. Many looked to some form of arrangement allying Husamettin Ozkan, who resigned from government and Ecevit's party on Monday, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Economy Minister Kemal Dervis, who steered a rescue program administered by the Internation Monetary Fund.
Ozkan was ordered to quit by Ecevit following rumors he was negotiating in secret with coalition partners to replace the ailing premier.
Marketeers - fearful that elections could undermine the $16 billion IMF-backed crisis plan - nervously awaited an announcement from Ecevit on whether he would resign. The IMF said its biggest creditor should stick strictly to its financial targets.
Turkey's crisis will be watched closely not only by the IMF, which has a big stake in Turkey's recovery, but by the EU and United States. The political chaos comes as Turkey has taken over leadership of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan and Washington is considering military action against Iraq.
At home the powerful generals, often a firm "guiding hand" in Turkish politics, may be eager to see a coalition deal that would avert elections and allow resumption of effective government.
Turkey's hopes of carrying out key rights reforms to qualify for European Union membership talks are taking hits as the government's long-term stability erodes. European leaders have suggested that formal negotiations over Turkey's EU membership could begin as early as December.
If Ecevit were to resign, the way forward would be unclear. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer could ask Ecevit to stay on for a short time and then appoint a prime minister-designate to attempt to form a government. He could, if he wished, name Devlet Bahceli, head of what has become the biggest party in parliament, but could equally name another candidate.
The MHP began on Monday collecting the signatures needed to summon parliament back from its summer recess in September. They would need a simple majority to call polls in November and, with opposition parties sympathetic, appear assured of success.
An uncertain future hangs over the DSP, a party dominated by Ecevit and his wife Rahsan since its foundation in the 1980s as Turkey emerged from three years of military rule.