Kemalism in Turkish Politics: The Republican People's Party, Secularism and Nationalism (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics) by Sinan Ciddi

Author:Sinan Ciddi [Ciddi, Sinan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Interdisciplinary Studies
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2009-01-12T16:00:00+00:00

The DSP case

The DSP differs from the CHP on several points. With the exception of the 2002 general elections, the DSP throughout the 1990s saw a constant increase in its share of the vote.90 The 2002 November general elections reversed this trend, as the DSP slumped in the polls. Following a heated argument between the government and the president at the monthly meeting of the National Security Council in February 2001, Turkey experienced the worst economic crisis in its entire republican history. The argument between the government and the president was only the catalyst, which confirmed both domestic and international financiers loss of faith in the ability of the Ecevit government to push forward with its reformist agenda. The domestic impact of the crisis was huge.91 Needless to say, the single biggest factor leading to the DSP's demise at the 2002 elections can be linked to public resentment felt towards Ecevit and his coalition partners. The DSP's role in the crisis only helped foster in the public mind the perception that the 'left' has brought nothing but economic misery.

Various factors can be cited for the rising electoral trend of the DSP during the 1990s. From a historical point of view, the charismatic persona of Bülent Ecevit cannot be understated. The popular mindset of Turks perceived Ecevit both as the saviour of Cyprus, as well as the honest, dependable and humble politician. In contrast to the SHP/CHP municipal and national government administrations of 1989–95, which were tarnished with corruption scandals and government malpractice, Ecevit was successful in projecting a sincere and responsible posture. This personal image was coupled with the rising wave of nationalism and secularism, following the ascendancy of the PKK insurgency in the south east and the RP to government office. The capture of Abdullah Öcalan and the demise of the Islamist Erbakan government were events for which the DSP took the credit.92

However, both Öcalan's capture and Ecevit's secular stance can be seen as short term factors, which brought him to power following the general elections of April 1999. In the longer term, a continued insistence on displaying a rigid stance towards religious and ethnic cleavages, coupled with responsibility for the 2001 economic crisis, resulted in electoral meltdown for the DSP in the November 2002 elections. The DSP's secularist stance was clearly apparent when Ecevit leant verbal support to the demise of the Erbakan government. However, the DSP's position with respect to religiosity was unclear throughout the 1990s. It maintained an ambiguous position by declaring a policy of 'secularism that is respectful of religion'.93 In practice, whilst Ecevit consistently reaffirmed his allegiance to secularism, his personal relationship with Fetullah Gülen resulted in raised eyebrows from secularist circles.94 Following increased political murders by the Turkish Hizbullah in 2000, Ecevit kept his distance from Gülen and his supporters.95 Despite his apparent moderate stance towards Islam, Ecevit also displayed acts that were inconsistent with his previous ideological outlook. Having always declared his opposition to the presence of the military since the 1970s,

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