Amid pledges and unresolved issues, as expected Gül is elected president
Ankara (AsiaNews) – No one was surprised when Abdullah Gül was elected Turkish president yesterday. He was the only candidate the ruling Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP) had put forth. With the unified vote of all 339 AKP members of parliament Gül was able to beat the opposition’s four-month boycott.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a party linked to the Grey Wolves, had pledged its support but in the end backed its own candidate. This is seen as a positive sign since the ultra-nationalists of the MHP don’t see themselves in a representative of the state they view as accommodating, liberal and pacifist, turned towards Europe. The Republican People's Party (CHP), which embodies Atatürk’s legacy and is the main opposition party with 110 seats in parliament, abstained instead. Still newly-elected President Gül pledged that he would be the president of “all Turks.”
Public opinion today in Turkey is divided. There are those who are very happy about what has happened, who see this election as a great victory, the beginning of a new era with a new republic that will be able to establish a modern democracy based on actual and complete liberty. Then there are the disappointed, those who look upon the outcome as a major defeat for nationalism and Atatürk’s secular state, who view the turn of events as the beginning of a dark and dangerous period.
The country’s top military leadership is fuming. As a protest no top officers attended the swearing-in ceremony in parliament and the new president’s entrance in the presidential palace. Instead, three days before Victory Day was to be celebrated on August 30, General Yaşar Buyukanit, current chief of the Turkish General Staff, said: “Unfortunately, every day in different ways furtive plans appear that aim to undo the modern advances and ruin the Turkish republic's secular and democratic structure. [. . .] None of these threats and offences can deter or tire the Turkish Armed Forces from its disciplined determination to follow the modern and dynamic Atatürk doctrine that is based on science and knowledge.”
For many analysts this reaction is understandable insofar as the military is afraid of losing power and influence. In effect, the recently elected parliament and government (whose ministers are to be sworn-in today) plan to reform the constitution. Among the major points slated for change if not outright removal are article 145, which gives the military great leeway against politicians. The bans on headscarves in public places as well as in institutions of higher education and universities and schooling in Kurdish are expected to be reviewed.
The new president said emphatically that “in every situation we must be responsible for our liberty; it is our prize and our strength;” words that every paper printed in bold letters on their front pages.
But it's far from clear what that new era is going to usher in; many concerns still remain. “Is this the beginning of a new period of compromise, or the start of secularist-Islamist strife?” wrote Mehmet Ali Birand, a columnist for the country’s largest daily newspaper.
“It is certain that for the first time someone who is ‘different’ is occupying the highest seat of power. But in what ways is he different? From what we have seen in the last few years, we cannot say that he is a religious fanatic.”
The new president was in fact the first to try to calm his government colleagues, when tensions rose as a result of Benedict XVI’ speech in Regensburg. Similarly, he successfully reconciled European expectations and Turkish needs over human rights and Cyprus, and handled Turkey’s response to the Iraq crisis by keeping it out whilst maintaining Turkey’s membership in NATO and friendship with the United States.
“Gül shies away from controversies; he does not seek confrontation,” Birand said. “He is instead a politician who seeks reconciliation and compromise, who can keep his self-control and remain impartial. For this reason I believe that among all AKP leaders he is the right man, someone who will be able to give a facelift to Turkey’s democracy and to the concept of liberty.”
And yet doubts persist.
“May Allah not embarrass me,” Gül said at the end of his speech, which was full of good ideas and promises. But will the new head of state—whose task it will be to sign into law bills affecting the daily life and future of 70 million people—be able to uphold his pledge of impartiality and defend everyone’s rights and freedoms? Turkey’s ethnic and religious minorities really hope so. Although there are many issues that are still unresolved, everyone for now is heaving a sign of relief after the recent troublesome months. But in the end, only time will tell.
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