Turkey: the reinvigorated man of Europe

AMANDA PAUL
20 April 2011, Wednesday

Turkey is no longer the sick man of Europe. As recently described by Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, these days Turkey is the robust man of Europe. As Turkey heads towards the June 12 parliamentary elections, the country is in pretty good shape compared to many other nations, including a number of EU member states.

At the nation’s helm stands Erdoğan. He must be feeling pretty cheery these days. There are not many leaders (other than dictators) who are heading towards a third election knowing they are almost certain to win. To achieve this is quite an accomplishment but to achieve it comfortably is impressive indeed. With election fever sweeping the nation Erdoğan is at his most flamboyant, rolling up his sleeves and performing for the crowds. I still find it incredible that after almost nine years of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) rule Turkey’s opposition parties have failed to evolve themselves into constructive and serious parties. Frankly, they seem to be their own worst enemy almost giving the AKP a third victory on a plate.

Turkey is flourishing with a growing economy and a proactive, dynamic and envied foreign policy. However, not all in the garden is rosy as Ankara’s relationship with the EU continues to deteriorate with strong opposition persisting from key member states France and Germany and the Cyprus problem also blocking the road.

This negative trend was reflected in Prime Minister Erdoğan’s speech at the European Council Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg on April 13. Erdoğan took a real swing at the EU, and in particular France, following the ratification by the French Senate of a law to ban women wearing the burqa, a law which Erdoğan considers to be inappropriate and a violation of freedom of religion. France is not the first country to adopt such a law. Belgium was the first EU country to initiate legislation banning Islamic veils that completely cover a woman’s face, although the process has not been fully completed as Belgium is still being without a government. (Though it had elections in June 2010, the country still fails to form a government).

Erdoğan was also prickly on criticism of his government responding to tricky questions by declaring that those asking them (members of the European Parliament) did not have a clear picture of what was happening in Turkey. While I believe this is not the smartest way to answer questions I also sometimes think that some people working in EU institutions often don’t fully appreciate the changes that have taken place in Turkey over the last few years. Turkey has evolved from being a closed and somewhat inward looking country with numerous issues branded as taboo to being far more open and ready to tackle its not inconsiderable historical baggage. The days when it was considered dangerous to discuss the so-called Armenian genocide, the Kurdish issue, etc. are long gone. Yes, there are still many problems. Freedom of religion and minority rights are still far from perfect, yet at the same time the situation has greatly improved. Of course the EU is right to press Turkey on issues that are of concern, including freedom of the media, but at the same time we should also remember that Turkey is not France or Switzerland which have century’s old democracy.

Turkey is going through a process and it will be a process of dips and bends which sometimes seems like the country is going one step forward and two steps back. Time and patience are required. And yes, sometimes Erdoğan’s erratic hot and cold behavior is out of tune with others in the party. His sporadic outbursts mean he will certainly not be voted European leader of the year, as he once was, and he certainly no longer has the same level of credibility he once did. And while the sort of statements Erdoğan made in Strasbourg are not going to win him any new fans in the EU, this is not his purpose. Nowadays he only wants to win more votes in Turkey. Furthermore, Erdoğan has a tendency to contradict himself. In a recent article in Newsweek he said, on the one hand, that Turkey would no longer wait at the EU’s door like a docile supplicant, but yet at the same time he admitted that Turkey needs the EU as much as the EU needs Turkey. He also repeated this phrase during his Strasbourg speech.

Yes, it is true that Turkey is no longer the sick man of Europe. But it is also clear that Turkey did not regain its current state of good health all by itself. Being anchored to the EU process has helped Turkey considerably. I therefore doubt that Ankara is in a hurry to pull up the EU anchor any time soon. As I have said before, politicians change and so do policies and both sides need to take steps to change the current status quo.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-241499-turkey-the-reinvigorated-man-of-europe.html.