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Political Insider Sees No Quick End To Turkey’s Current Government

- Friday, May 2, 1997 |

Mr. Lutfullah Kayalar, a leading member of the Turkey’s centrist Motherland Party and a member of the Turkish parliament, visited the JINSA offices on Thursday, May 1, to discuss the current political situation in Turkey.

Kayalar said that the current government in Ankara, a coalition between the Islamist Refah Party and the center right True Path Party, could be brought down through parliamentary procedure. Neither Tansu Ciller’s True Path Party or the Motherland Party, led by Mesut Yilmaz, would accept the others’ current leader as Prime Minister. However, Kayalar also said, the Motherland Party would accept a third party’s leader as an interim prime minister, but the True Path has rejected this plan. If this were to come about, a new government could be formed with an agreement that it would exist for a short set time period and then devote that time to reforming the electoral system, he said.

There is sense of urgency on the matter. Kayalar noted the military has played a key role in the opposition and it, along with other parties, are extremely frustrated with Refah Party leader and Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan.

Kayalar noted that he Motherland Party has considered an active foreign policy to be central to its mandate since its founding in 1983. Today, Motherland is firmly in support of strong relations with both the United States and Israel. In contrast, he said, the True Path Party does not have a broad foreign affairs agenda.

Turkey’s serious energy crisis has made the recent gas purchase from Iran a necessary evil, Kayalar said. The crisis was exacerbated by the sacrifices Turkey made on behalf of the U.S.-led coalition during the Gulf War and the ensuing embargo on trade with Iraq. While Ankara and Tehran do not have warm relations, the contracts for Turkish purchases of Iranian natural gas is critical for the Turkish economy. While he and many like-minded Turks are sympathetic to the American embargo of Iran, there is no other practical short-term solution for Turkey’s energy problems. Father down the road, however, nuclear energy will likely be used, Kayalar said.