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Published - Turkish Daily News: Time for a Change at the CHP

August 28th, 2007
By Michael van der Galien

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Today, Turkish Daily News published an OP-ED written by yours truly. In the column I argue that it is time for the CHP (as you all should know by now: Turkey’s main opposition party) to change its course. If it does not, I write, it will become increasingly irrelevant. A couple of the points I make:

Although as an outsider I certainly understand why many secularists are worried about the reforms Gül and Erdogan might try to introduce once in shared power, the CHP and its supporters also need to understand that Turkey is a democracy and that, sometimes, the people decide to do something one does not necessarily agree with. Deniz Baykal is perhaps the wors[t] leader in the history of the CHP: instead of learning this lesson – and to accept its consequences – he chooses to pursue the exact same strategy he pursued months ago. By doing so he not only gives many voters the idea that he has nothing but contempt for them, but he also makes himself and his party look silly.

It is time for the CHP to learn from its mistakes. If it does, it is more than likely that it will win more seats during the next elections for Parliament (in 2012). If it does not, it will become increasingly irrelevant. Secularists should understand this and should, therefore, push for Baykal’s resignation and for changes in the CHP’s agenda on areas as diverse as the economy, foreign affairs, the EU, and its support for freedom (of speech) within Turkey. Its policies in the recent past have not worked, and its message is not supported by the Turkish people.The CHP has to distance itself from its social democratic roots and has to be courageous enough to embrace the free market. Its first priority has to be to limit inflation and to fight unemployment. The solutions to these problems should not be sought in major government spending. This has been tried, and failed – at least in the long run. A complete break with its social democratic roots is not achievable in a couple of years, but a slow shift is possible. Turkey has changed, Turkey has become a modern country so it is time for the CHP to change as well.

More:

Regarding the EU and America, the CHP might sound the anti-EU and anti-US drum every now and then, but this will not work in the long run either. Like it or not, it is quite likely that Turkey will join the EU. Once Turkey joins the EU, the CHP will lose much of its relevance if its main EU policy consisted out of criticizing it. Once Turkey joins the EU there will be no way back and, perhaps more importantly, the CHP will have been proven to have been wrong. In other words, the CHP will be considered as the party that denies reality.

The freedom of speech is another one of those issues on which the CHP refuses to accept reality. It is, for instance, a staunch opponent of changing laws that prohibit individuals from ‘insulting the Turkish identity.’ The sad reality for the CHP is that a large part of the Turkish people demand almost complete freedom of speech. Here too, the CHP can try to prevent the laws from being changed, but it will fail in the end. Within a couple of years time, the laws limiting the freedom of speech will be repealed; either by pressure by the EU, by pressure of the Turkish voters, or by both.

This is the red line of the column: change will come, trying to oppose every and all change is useless and irrational. From this perspective, one could say that my approach is that of a pragmatic conservative: there is no use in trying to prevent every and all change, you have to look at reality - at what the situation in Turkey is right now - and then you have to determine what changes are for the better, what changes are inevitable, and how you can limit the damage. The focus should be to save the system - specific laws are sometimes mere details: the system can survive while laws are changed or repealed.

I also address the issue of the headscarf in it - I’d say, head on over to Turkish Daily News and read it.



This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 at 5:20 am and is filed under Turkey. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 
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