Court victory gives Turkey's ruling AKP a reprieve

Such sensitivities include the debate over whether head scarves should be allowed in universities, the AKP's handling of which was a significant catalyst for the closure case. The terrorist attack in Istanbul earlier this week, which has been linked to the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), has also brought issues of Kurdish rights to the fore again. Such problems, along with the Ergenekon investigation into an alleged coup plot by an ultranationalist gang comprised of prominent politicians, lawyers, generals, and journalists, have polarized opinion in Turkey.

Bridging the divide between AKP and secularists

The first challenge for the AKP may be to reform the constitution, which many believe has led to divisions between observant Muslims who support the AKP and secular opponents.

The AKP is also expected to continue their fight against the Ergenekon group, a murky cabal of retired generals, opposition politicians, and secular journalists charged with fomenting violence in preparation for a military coup in 2009.

Laciner cautions against taking this threat lightly. "Maybe they [AKP] will think that they should put an end to this process so as not to cause problems with the army. Maybe they will be happy with the constitutional court decision and think that after a year or two they can deal with the issue. If they behave like this, it means that they do not understand the seriousness of the deep state problem in Turkey."

The secular opposition, led by the Republican People's Party (CHP) may not be in the mood for compromise and cooperation. Mr. Baydar, the columnist, says the opposition will "continue calls for consensus in the sense of very radical concessions from the AKP side and not touch hot potatoes such as the Kurdish issue and the head scarf issue."

But some analysts say that a centrist coalition has to emerge in Turkey, and this verdict has forced that conclusion, while allowing time to develop such a coalition properly.

"The case, and the crisis more broadly, appears to have accomplished the much-needed task of awakening Turkey's centrist forces, which had been ejected from the mainstream in 2002," says Svante Cornell, research director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at John Hopkins University in Washington.

"The rebirth of the center and in particular the center-right, which is the political movement conforming with the values and views of most Turks, is a key for Turkey's stabilization," he adds. "A good thing to come out of this decision is that it won't be done in a haste, which it would have had the AKP been closed down."

Previous

1 | 2