Elections in Britain and Turkey
By KERIM BALCI
Zaman, Turkey
May 3 2005
05.03.2005 Tuesday – ISTANBUL 16:39
The upcoming elections in Britain on May 5 are being followed at the
most minimal level in Turkey. However, along with the United States,
Britain is the key determining power in world politics, the biggest
supporter of Turkey in the European Union (EU) process; the next EU
term president; has the second strongest military and the greatest
intellectual power to shape our neighbor, Iraq; a magnificent power
with the right to say something on the historical realities of
the Cyprus issue and Turkey will probably need its support on the
Armenian issue. The elections that will be held on May 5 are not
like the U.S. presidential elections, in which no matter who wins,
everything remains the same.
Commentators anticipating a last-minute surprise do not represent a
negligible number in Britain, even though the ruling Labour Party
and [Prime Minister] Tony Blair lead the their opponents in the
polls, a few days before the elections. When the election campaign
started, Blair’s political star began to sink as a result of the Iraq
quagmire. When Blair succeeded in shifting the agenda to the economy,
tuition fees, problems in the health sector and the fight against crime
and vandalism, most of the opposition parties dropped their arrows
of criticisms as well. Furthermore, when the Conservative Party,
which is the second largest political party in the country, brought
the issues of immigration and the destructive effects of immigration
to the agenda, it drew the wrath of the other opposition parties,
and also the Liberal Democrats were accused of racism by the extreme
leftists. However, going to the elections, it was expected that
the Conservatives, headed by John Howard, who is of Jewish origin,
would adopt exactly the opposite policy. Demanding immigrants and
refugees face a series of integration processes, which would culminate
in “cultural assimilation,” Howard could not see that the social
engineering measures he envisaged would destroy multi-cultural dough,
which is peculiar to Britain.
No matter who wins the elections, it is so very obvious that the
agenda during the campaign period will influence the direction
of post-election policies. This means the British government that
saw foreign policy as its main political maneuver area during the
previous election period will now turn more to domestic politics,
economic and social welfare implementations during the period after
the elections. This is not a good development for Turkey that is
awaiting crucial decisions on the EU process to be made during the
term of the British presidency.
Commentators expect the Liberal Democratic Party to spring the greatest
surprise in the May 5 elections, although it does not have the chance
to clinch victory. Party leader Charles Kennedy is seemingly the most
trusted candidate among all the leaders. Despite all that, maybe,
the society prefers to support Blair, who is considered a “liar”
by the people; however, there are some who claim that Kennedy will
be able to change the two-party system, that has been going on in
the country for centuries, in subsequent elections.
We should also mention two small parties that represent what the
public says, although they will not be effective in determining the
government. One of them is extreme-left Respect Party, headed by
George Galloway, and the other is the extreme-right Veritas Party,
where racist leader Robert Kilroy-Silk, is the only man. Galloway
conducts politics based on minorities neglected by the government
and has particularly succeeded in gaining the support of Muslims
involved in reactionary politics. On the contrary, Kilroy-Silk demands
that the country withdraw from the EU, accept immigrants only after
they succeed in competence and quality tests and adaptation to very
harsh laws against crime. Kilroy-Silk claims there is an unexpressed
anti-foreigner drive within the essence of the British society and
most people oppose the multi-culturalism in the country, and his
party is clarifying the reality by mentioning this disguised enmity.
The color in British politics makes it both exciting and difficult to
follow. However, politics bearing fruits that, on one hand, racism
is being expressed under the canopy of democracy, and on the other,
the unhappy Muslims are being used as tools for the domestic politics,
would make the possibility of digesting Turkey that is waiting at the
EU gates, very difficult. It is necessary for Turkish policy makers
not to forget Britain’s determining role on world politics.