Turkish Politics - The Next Battle

Turkish politics

The next battle

Aug 30th 2007 | ANKARA
From The Economist print edition

Abdullah Gul has been elected president. But the ruling AK party faces more conflict with the generals over a new constitution

“IT'S the final nail in the army's coffin.” That is how one pro-secular government official summed up the elevation of Abdullah Gul, a former Islamist, to the presidency on August 28th in the teeth of opposition from the country's generals. Others saw it as a moral victory for the pious masses over an overweening secular elite that has long concentrated power and wealth in its hands.

Either way, Mr Gul's journey from a working class family in the Anatolian heartland to the pinnacle of secular power will transform Turkish politics. The new era may promise greater liberties, but also more meddling from the army. As president, Mr Gul, until this month Turkey's respected foreign minister, will have the power to veto legislation and a say in the appointment of senior officials. Most discomfiting of all for the generals, Mr Gul is now their commander-in-chief.

The top brass refused to salute him during his first official engagement, and stayed away from his oath-taking ceremony this week. So too did Mr Gul's wife, whose Islamic-style headscarf came to embody the political crisis of the past four months, since Mr Gul first announced his candidacy. The head covering is banned in all government buildings and schools and, until this week, in the presidential compound where Ataturk, founder of the republic, once lived.

In his inaugural address, Mr Gul sought to ease the fears of his critics, insisting that he would abide by the secular principles of Ataturk's republic. He also showered praise on the generals and pledged to keep up Turkey's attempt to join the EU.

Yet the 56-year-old former economist hinted at a looser interpretation of Turkey's unique brand of secularism. Until now this has been defined by Ataturk's renunciation of Islamic symbols and rigid state control over all aspects of religious life. Secularism, said Mr Gul, was a precondition for “social peace” but also offered a model “for different lifestyles”. Some seized on his words as proof that he will support loosening restrictions on the headscarf and religious education.

Much will depend on his former boss, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Justice and Development (AK) Party was swept back into office in July's elections. These were called after a prolonged trial of strength that began when the army, backed by the pro-secular judiciary, tried to stop Mr Gul's attempt to become president. The generals, who have toppled four governments since 1960, threatened to intervene again but have so far stayed their hand.

As Mr Gul approved a new pro-EU cabinet this week, another clash loomed over a “civilian” constitution that Mr Erdogan proposes to adopt next year to replace the current text, written by the generals after their last coup in 1980. Draft clauses leaked to the media are nothing short of revolutionary: senior officers will no longer be immune from prosecution in civilian courts, military appeals courts will be scrapped, Kurdish will be taught as a second language in government schools and the definition of Turkishness will be expanded to embrace citizens from different backgrounds and creeds.

The army is unnerved. Pundits reckon Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of general staff, was alluding to the new constitution when he spoke of “centres of evil” bent on eroding secularism in a statement this week. Some expect that the generals may now to try to drive a wedge between the president and Mr Erdogan. There has long been an undercurrent of rivalry in their political alliance. Moreover, the new constitution also calls for a significant trimming of presidential powers. Might Mr Gul be tempted to block it? This may be wishful thinking by the humbled generals.