NPR: Turkey's Ruling Party Wants Gul for President Again

Turkey's Ruling Party Wants Gul for President Again

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul

STR/AFP/Getty Images

You know the old adage, "If at first you don't succeed..."

It seems that Turkey's ruling party, the AKP, (described by The Guardian as "mildly Islamic") has adopted this as its new motto. Word came from Istanbul this week that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party won a substantial victory in the recent national election, is renominating foreign minister and former Islamist Abdullah Gul for president. It's a largely ceremonial role, but the president can veto legislation.

Needless to say, the secularists in Turkey are red in the face. They believe Gul, who is a practicing Muslim and whose wife wears a headscarf, is the first step on a slippery slope to Turkey becoming the next Iran. For his part, Gul said today that everyone should just relax because he has no intention of undermining Turkey's secular constitution.

The last time Erdogan nominated Gul, there were mass demonstrations by secularists and grumbling from the army. Then, the opposition party boycotted the parliament during the vote to block it. But the reality is that Erdogan may get his way this time. Following the election, there are now two official opposition parties, and the newest one has already said it would not walk out on a vote.

Now we have to wait and see what Turkey's overwhelmingly secularist military has to say about old adages.

9:37 AM ET | 08-15-2007 | permalink

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