Double blow against Turkey: Izmir, and the party of Erdogan
Ankara (AsiaNews) - The country reawakened today in a state of profound uncertainty, on account of the two blows that it suffered yesterday, one economic and the other political: the rejection of Izmir as the site of Expo 2015, and the approval of judicial proceedings against the AKP, the party in power, on charges that it has violated the constitution.
The economic setback came from Paris. Up until the end, Izmir, "the Pearl of the Aegean" and the third-largest city in Turkey, hoped to be able to host the Expo in 2015. And instead, Milan won.
After years of expectation and extensive preparations, with projects already underway to improve transportation and the capacity to accommodate tourists, personnel, and stands, everything faded away in just a few minutes, cutting off this possible air supply. Izmir, which was certain of success, saw the disappearance of 20 billion dollars destined to fund the construction of new infrastructure, and the projected 40 million visitors to the fair who would have certainly padded the state coffers. Now left high and dry, what will it do about all of the promises made to the citizens about the construction of a new airport, new high-speed railway lines, improvements to the highways, projects that are so necessary for the development of the entire nation?
The other blow is the political one, and comes from the Turkish constitutional court, which has confirmed the accusation issued by the court of appeals against the governing AKP party, accusing it of Islamicising the republic by violating the principles of secularism instituted by Ataturk.
The AKP now has three alternatives. Having a parliamentary majority, it could try to change the articles of the constitution with the support of the MHP (a right-wing nationalist party) and thus rely on parliamentary immunity and the abolition of the concept of secularism. But it seems that the party of the Gray Wolves is not willing to do this. It is instead relying on a strategy of preserving a portion of the party, while allowing individual politicians (even if these include the president and prime minister of the republic, as is true in this case) accused of acting against the constitution to be judged.
The second alternative is that of proposing a popular referendum, so that the whole country could vote on whether Erdogan's party (which won 47 percent of the vote in the latest elections) should be shut down or not.
The last alternative is that the party would come to court to defend itself against the accusation, and demonstrate that it is a secular and democratic party. It is still not clear which path the prime minister and his party will choose, while the newspapers and television stations are hotly debating the suppositions and hypotheses on the political and democratic future of the entire nation.
Regarding both these problems, Izmir and the AKP, it seems abundantly clear to all that the price will be paid once again in terms of Turkey's progress as it seeks to enter the European Union.
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