Financial Times, UK
March 29 2005

Defections stir turmoil in Turkish parliament
By Vincent Boland in Ankara

Six Turkish MPs changed their party allegiance yesterday,
highlighting a brittle political atmosphere that has paralysed the
government and the opposition just as Turkey faces renewed European
pressure to prove that reforms are working.

One deputy resigned from the ruling Justice and Development party
(AKP), bringing to seven the number of the party’s MPs, including a
government minister, who have defected this year.

Five MPs quit the main opposition Republican People’s party (CHP),
which has been beset by a leadership challenge and by its failure to
offer an alternative to the listless government.

The shifting allegiances coincide with a period of unpredictable and
shifting public and political opinion in Turkey.

The chief manifestation of this mood is a rise in nationalist
sentiment. An opinion poll in the Islamist-oriented newspaper Zaman
on Sunday suggested that, while support for Turkey’s bid to join the
European Union was unchanged at 75 per cent, at least half of Turks
believed their country was “surrounded by enemies”.

Respondents had negative feelings for Israel, Armenia, the US and
Greece, and positive feelings for Germany and Azerbaijan.

The poll, conducted in mid-February, provides a reason behind the
fierce patriotic reaction last week to an attempt by three children
to burn the Turkish flag at a demonstration attended by many Kurds.
Yesterday in Ankara fewer flags were on show following an outburst of
flag-waving.

Critics say the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister,
has failed to capitalise on the goodwill it earned for getting the EU
to open accession talks next October. Instead it is struggling to
demonstrate to the EU that it has not lost the reforming credentials
that convinced Brussels to invite it to talks in the first place.

The defections have had only a slight impact on the balance of power
in the 550-seat parliament, where the AKP has 360 seats and the CHP
163. But commentators said there was evidence of a realignment of
political allegiance in Turkey that could influence the outcome of
the next general election, scheduled for 2007.

Mirac Akdogan, who quit the AKP for the centre-right Motherland
party, said the ruling party was “losing the legitimacy it gained by
winning the [2002] election.”

Analysts said the AKP was riven by infighting among reformists,
modernisers, Islamists and nationalists. But it is well ahead in
opinion polls, thanks to its good record on the economy.

The five MPs who left the CHP for a small centre-left party are
supporters of Mustafa Sarigul, a district mayor in Istanbul who
failed last month to oust Deniz Baykal, the party leader. Mr Sarigul
was expelled from the party on Friday.