Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0377/03772.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 42KB | 684 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03772}
$Pretitle{280}
$Title{Turkey
Chapter 4C.   Political Parties}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Jo Ann Browning Seeley}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{political
party
military
turkish
turkey
ch
parties
economic
government
islamic}
$Date{1987}
$Log{}
Country:     Turkey
Book:        Turkey, A Country Study
Author:      Jo Ann Browning Seeley
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1987

Chapter 4C.   Political Parties

     The early years of the republic were characterized by personal,
single-party rule. During this period, opposition movements were considered
treasonable, and the authoritarianism of the Kemalist regime did not provide
Turkish leaders with experience in accommodation and compromise. Even after
the advent of multiparty politics, criticism of the party in power was viewed
with suspicion, and interparty strife was a constant factor (see Multiparty
Politics, 1946-60, ch. 1).

     The political activists who left the RPP to form the right-of- center
Democrat Party (DP--see Glossary) in 1946 continued to adhere to Kemalist
principles. Their primary aim was to end one- party rule and to compete for
power with the RPP. In the 1950 election, ideological differences between the
two parties were not pronounced. Their main disagreement was over the pace at
which Turkey should be transformed into Ataturk's ideal of a modern,
progressive democracy. Although the Democrats stressed more liberal economic
policies as opposed to the etatism of the RPP, it was the Republicans who had
begun to move Turkey in the direction of free enterprise before they left
office in 1950.

     Greater divergencies eventually developed between the parties, and
Turkish politics tended to become aligned on a right-left continuum. The DP
and its successor, the JP, continued to be identified with economic liberalism
and received support from the emerging industrial and commercial middle
classes as well as from the more modernized and mobilized sectors of the rural
population. The party emphasized nationalism and was more tolerant than the
RPP with regard to the public observance of traditional Islamic practices.

     As the JP moved to the right, the RPP moved to the left. Under Ecevit's
leadership in the early 1970s, the RPP became a more radical, mass-oriented,
populist party. The RPP stressed civil liberties and social concerns while
remaining committed to the Kemalist principles of secularism and etatism. Its
programs appealed to workers as well as to urban and educated sectors of the
population. Although these two rival parties managed to dominate the political
system throughout the 1960s and 1970s in spite of the proliferation of smaller
parties, the inability of either party to secure a clear electoral mandate
resulted in the revolving-door politics of the years preceding the 1980 coup
(see Crisis in Turkish Democracy, 1970-82, ch. 1).

     The military regime of 1980 sought to make a complete break with this
ineffective party system, but it did not succeed in preventing the
re-emergence of the pre-1980 political elite. In 1987 significant continuity
was apparent in political traditions and leaders, and even some of the smaller
precoup parties had their successors.

Motherland Party

     The MP was founded in May 1983, under the leadership of former NSP
candidate Turgut Ozal, an engineer and economist who had occupied high-ranking
positions under Demirel, including the post of undersecretary in charge of the
SPO. Following the military takeover in 1980, Ozal became deputy prime
minister in charge of economic affairs in the Bulent Ulusu cabinet. He was
seen as the architect of Turkey's new economic policies and emphasized this
role in the 1983 electoral campaign (see Recovery under Ozal, ch. 3).

     The platform of the MP represented the strongest commitment to a
free-market economy by any major political party in Turkey's history.
Governmental intervention and restrictions on private economic activities were
to be sharply reduced, and the government's role was to be essentially
regulatory, although it would continue to provide incentives to private
industry and trade. The MP proposed measures designed to make domestic
producers more competitive in international markets. The party also stressed
domestic peace and order, strengthening of the middle class, development of
the less-developed regions, and reduction of bureaucratic red tape.

     The MP, which won overwhelmingly in the November 1983 election, included
elements from all the main parties of the precoup era. MP members had
previously belonged to the JP, the ultra-right- wing Nationalist Action Party
(NAP--see Glossary), the Islamic fundamentalist National Salvation Party
(NSP--see Glossary), and the RPP, and many observers viewed their adherence to
Ozal's party as more opportunistic than ideological.

     Turkish parties, especially those on the right, have frequently derived
their cohesion from the popular appeal of their leaders. This was particularly
the case with regard to the MP, in which politically divergent elements were
rallied under Ozal's leadership. Various factions within the party, notably
the Islamic fundamentalists and the extreme nationalist wing, vied for
influence and control, but Ozal maintained party unity by dint of his
popularity and political acumen.

     Personal relationships and rivalries have traditionally played a
significant role in Turkish politics, as can be seen in the case of the
Ozal-Demirel rivalry. The economic recovery program for which Ozal came to be
noted was launched in January 1980 under then prime minister Demirel; Ozal
designed the program and supervised its implementation. Demirel resented the
fact that after the generals put him under house arrest in September 1980,
Ozal, who had been his friend and colleague, accepted high office from the men
responsible for the coup.

     After assuming office in 1983, Ozal embarked on a comprehensive program
that promised to liberalize the economy and to favor Turkey's overall economic
development. The government also undertook measures to return Turkey to full
democracy; as a result, relations with the West improved. Nevertheless, Ozal's
administration continued to be troubled by inflation and unemployment, and by
the mid-1980s his vaunted export drive had begun to lag. In addition, Ozal was
accused of a lack of firmness in dealing with the problem of Islamic
resurgence, which intensified as the decade progressed. His critics recalled
that he had run for office as a NSP candidate in 1977. In mid-1987, it
remained uncertain to what extent Ozal's popularity and political skills would
enable him to maintain support in the face of these difficulties.

True Path Party

     Following the 1986 by-elections, the TPP became the major opposition
party (see Political Developments, 1980-87, this ch.). The party was
established in June 1983 after the military administration dissolved the BTP
because of its ties to the JP. Husamettin Cindoruk became titular chairman of
the TPP, but former JP leader Demirel was the moving force behind the
organization. The party escaped dissolution by the Constitutional Court but
was not allowed to participate in the 1983 general election. It gained
representation in the parliament in May 1986 following the disbanding of the
NDP, many of whose former members joined the TPP.

     As of mid-1987, the TPP had not clearly outlined its platform, other than
to demand an end to political restrictions. Demirel shared Ozal's commitment
to economic expansion. His campaign speeches prior to the 1986 by-elections
were attuned to the grievances of lower income groups, especially the
peasantry, as he attempted to woo voters who had not benefited from Ozal's
economic reforms. Demirel also appeared to be gaining the backing of
industrialists and business people who had traditionally supported the JP. The
charismatic leader ruled out proposed compromises with the MP, which he
characterized as an artificial creation,