Sunday, February 10, 2008

Democracy without democratic opposition

The main problem in Turkish politics is the absence of a democratic and reformist opposition that would push the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to be more assertive in its reform agenda. Such a democratic opposition would have tested the AK Party's commitment to democratization, the EU process and overall human rights reforms. Unfortunately, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), failing to draw any lesson from the July elections, continues to be nationalist, reactionary and pro status-quo, choosing not to rely on the people's support but on the approval of the "ideological instruments of the state."

The governing AK Party is constantly being questioned by some circles about its "Islamic" roots as a barrier to its commitment to democracy, despite the reforms it has enacted in the last five years that have strengthened Turkish democracy and brought Turkey ever closer to the European Union. But the CHP seems somehow immune from criticism about its commitment to democracy. We cannot consolidate Turkish democracy if the main opposition party does not believe in democracy.
Can anyone think of a democratic opposition party that reserves constitution-making for coup plotters? CHP leader Deniz Baykal said the other day: "Can a new constitution not be drafted? Of course, yes. … You can stage a coup, risk being hanged. And after that, the entire Constitution can be changed." This statement belongs to a leader whose party is still a member of Socialist International (SI). People are denied the right to change the Constitution by a politician who sought the people's mandate in elections. I think this tells us why the CHP has not won a single election in its entire history. Winning an election without believing in democracy and people power is not possible.
It is totally understandable to see the CHP and its leader provoke undemocratic processes, as they have already lost any hope of winning an election in democratic competition. It is enough for Baykal to be the banner of secularism, not of democracy. So long as secularism is viewed as under threat by his party's supporters, he knows very well that his leadership will not be questioned. We remember how his leadership was questioned after the July elections. Even some of his close friends left the party administration and are now campaigning for its leadership.

In order to understand why Baykal is aggressive about the latest constitutional amendments, we should remember that in March the CHP will have an extraordinary party congress in which Baykal's leadership will be challenged. The more Turkey is plunged into the secularism debate, the stronger Baykal's position will be within his own party. Baykal is pleased that with the headscarf debate the CHP's electoral performance under his leadership will fall on deaf ears.

The AK Party is being criticized by some on the ground of benefiting from the unsolved headscarf problem, which enables the party to manipulate the issue and attract popular support. This might be true to some degree, but the benefits the AK Party derived from the unresolved headscarf issue cannot be compared to those of the CHP. The AK Party's popular support has been growing ever since the 2002 elections. It started out with 34 percent in 2002, reached 42 percent in 2004 local elections and went up 47 percent in the elections held in 2007.

The main opposition party, with a stagnant 20 percent rate of support in the last three elections, is a single-issue party -- and that is "secularism." "Defense of secularism" is the only asset the CHP has. Imagine if a political party had a single argument concerning Turkish politics. Would it like for that issue to be resolved? The CHP's position is simple: sticking to its single issue, exaggerating, using and manipulating it in order to maintain even its 20 percent support -- even at the expense of democracy.
11.02.2008

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