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Turkish Press Review, 07-08-10
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
10.08.2007
FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS …
FROM THE COLUMNS …
CONTENTS
[01] KOKTAN ELECTED PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
[02] CALENDAR FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO START TODAY
[03] BAYKAL: “IF THE AKP NAMES A COMPROMISE CANDIDATE, WE’LL BE IN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE”
[04] UNAKITAN: “OUR PRIMARY SURPLUS TARGET IS WITHIN REACH”
[05] DTP ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS
[06] TRAVEL MAGAZINES SING ISTANBUL’S PRAISES
[07] TOPTAN AND GUL’S CANDIDACY
[01] KOKTAN ELECTED PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
As expected, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) candidate
was elected Parliament speaker yesterday. Koksal got 450 votes, while his
sole opponent, from the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), got
only 74. Independent Deputy Kamer Genc withdrew his bid for the post after
learning that Toptan was the AKP’s candidate, expressing respect for the
speaker-to-be. Later, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Toptan to
congratulate him, along with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and outgoing
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. During the meeting, Erdogan spoke about
the upcoming presidential election, saying that the parties could be
represented in Parliament in line with the mandate given to them by the
people and that these parties could use their representative authority
accordingly. In related news, main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that he welcomed Toptan’s visits to
political parties before he was elected. Opposition Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that he wished Toptan success in his
new post. /Turkiye-Sabah/
[02] CALENDAR FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO START TODAY
Following Koksal Toptan’s election to the Parliament speaker post, the
calendar for the presidential election is due to start today. After
Parliament’s Presidential Board is formed, the Advisory Board is set to
determine a date for the presidential election. The Advisory Board Council
is due to convene today and start the process tomorrow. The ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP), which wants to accelerate the process, has
asked the opposition parties to name their presidential candidates.
/Milliyet/
[03] BAYKAL: “IF THE AKP NAMES A COMPROMISE CANDIDATE, WE’LL BE IN
PARLIAMENT TO VOTE”
Speaking yesterday with the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP)
Koksal Toptan before he was elected Parliament speaker, main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal praised the AKP’s
choice of Toptan for the post. Stressing that the nation expects to see the
same spirit of compromise in the upcoming presidential election, Baykal
added that if the AKP names a compromise candidate, the CHP deputies would
be in Parliament for the presidential vote. A CHP-led boycott of the April
presidential vote led to a top court annulling the election, leading to
elections for a new Parliament last month. /Milliyet/
[04] UNAKITAN: “OUR PRIMARY SURPLUS TARGET IS WITHIN REACH”
Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan yesterday said Turkey’s primary surplus
target, set at 6.5% of the gross national product (GNP) in the public
sector, would be reached without the need for any additional measures.
Speaking to Reuters, Unakitan said that they can reach this goal by
continuing to implement current policies and pledged there would be no
concessions from fiscal discipline. /Hurriyet/
[05] DTP ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS
State Planning Organization (DTP) Undersecretary Ahmet Tiktik said
yesterday that the DTP would provide support for the large-scale research
projects, researcher manpower projects and controlled projects and that
basic and academic projects falling outside this would be supported by the
Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUBITAK). Tiktik
sent the project criteria, subject to review next year, to public
institutions and organizations and universities. Stating that sharpening
Turkey’s competitive edge in international markets and ensuring
sustainable socioeconomic development were among Turkey’s basic aims,
Tiktik said that doing research and development was important for reaching
these goals. /Aksam/
[06] TRAVEL MAGAZINES SING ISTANBUL’S PRAISES
British travel magazine Business Traveler has a feature article on Istanbul
in its July-August issue. The piece entitled “Istanbul al fresco” says
that Istanbul is the place where East and West meet and emphasized the
diversity of seasons in the cosmopolitan capital. In addition, Italian
travel magazine Bell’Europe devotes 12 pages to Turkey in its July issue.
The magazine says that Fethiye has the most beautiful coastline in all of
Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS …FROM THE COLUMNS …
[07] TOPTAN AND GUL’S CANDIDACY
BY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)
Columnist Murat Yetkin comments on Koksal Toptan’s being elected the new
Parliament speaker yesterday and the upcoming presidential election. A
summary of his column is as follows:
“It was expected that Koksal Toptan would be elected Parliament speaker
in the third round with the votes of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP). But in fact this was achieved with the help of the main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) along with other members of
the opposition. What Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after Toptan
was elected had a direct bearing on the upcoming presidential election. He
said it was an important step for the new Parliament to choose Toptan as
its speaker with such high participation and 450 votes, adding he hoped to
see more of the same. Considering these statements, can we say that Erdogan
believes they may get similar results in the upcoming presidential
election? It’s hard to say. Erdogan knows very well how thorny the
process will be. What CHP leader Deniz Baykal said when Toptan visited him
before being elected signaled this. Expressing his pleasure about Toptan as
a compromise candidate, Baykal said that they hoped the same would happen
for the presidential election and that they would lend their support to the
AKP if it continues this spirit of compromise. What Baykal means is clear:
He doesn’t want Abdullah Gul to run for president again. He implied that
they could even vote for the AKP’s candidate if Erdogan doesn’t
nominate Gul. Responding to this, however, Erdogan said that democracy
wouldn’t let the people’s will be put aside, signaling that Toptan’s
election won’t have a direct impact on the presidential race.
Gul should still be a candidate, as he said both during and after last
month’s general elections that he couldn’t ignore the nation’s will.
Moreover, as long as Erdogan sticks to what he said on April 24, Gul’s
candidacy is still valid. Erdogan never said that he renounced Gul’s
candidacy. The messages of compromise Erdogan gave after the general
elections led to this impression. But is it possible that Erdogan means a
kind of compromise on the method of election? The election of the
Parliament speaker was a compromise over the method. The ruling AKP
didn’t go to the opposition parties with various names. They declared a
candidate who the majority could agree on. Another factor is that since
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Bahceli announced that his party
would be in Parliament for the presidential vote, the quorum of 367 in the
first and second rounds of the presidential election is no longer a
problem. Thus Gul or another candidate may win in the third round with 276
or more votes.”
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