Ruling party brass prepare for purge
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Göksel Bozkurt
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 02, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Election results inspire the ruling Justice and Development Party to consider changes to the party’s structure and behavior but when six ministers tell daily Sabah they are ready to resign from the Cabinet, the prime minister reacts harshly, saying the meeting about the reshuffle was closed and the daily should consider how its reporting affects the country.
Disappointed with the eight-point drop and the loss of 13 cities in Sunday’s local elections, the ruling party Justice and Development Party, or AKP, has rolled up its sleeves to dramatically revitalize the party and reshuffle the Cabinet.
But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out for a leak to the press about a closed Cabinet meeting concerning the changes, which would also include increased attention to towns where the party lost ground.
According to daily Sabah’s headline story yesterday, ministers who wanted to make a gesture to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared their readiness to resign from their positions.
"The Cabinet meeting is secret. [The newspaper says] the story was confirmed by six ministers. É If they do so, I’ll show them the door," Erdoğan said yesterday during a news conference before his departure to London.
It was later reported that the press office of the Prime Ministry questioned the daily Sabah’s editors about the source of the leak and that was how Erdoğan learned that six ministers confirmed the story. Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak is a senior executive at Çalık Holding, the owner of the daily Sabah. The purchase of the Sabah-ATV group by the Çalık Holding through unusual credit from public banks caused controversy last year.
"It is not possible for my ministers to make such a statement. The daily claimed that they confirmed the event, asking six ministers. How could six ministers disclose a closed meeting?" Erdoğan said, calling on the daily to prove its allegation. "The media should act responsibly. While writing a headline, it should think about whether it serves the benefit of the country."
Erdoğan also dismissed the allegations that point to a Cabinet reshuffle as a result of the decrease in the AKP’s votes in Sunday’s local elections. "The Cabinet reshuffle cannot be associated with the elections. It is related to performance," the prime minister said.
Nazlı Ilıcak, a columnist for daily Sabah, said in an interview with private channel Habertürk TV yesterday that there was a misunderstanding about the report and that it was only normal to report such news. "I do not approve of the prime minister’s attitude toward the media and journalists. He should let the journalists do their own job," she said.
In the same story, Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik, the AKP’s Van deputy, seems to be the only minister who is against total resignation from the Cabinet, arguing that "such a move would only work to prove our failure." Çelik, who himself is on the firing line because of losing the municipality of Van, said in a written statement yesterday that his words were distorted by those who leaked the story to the newspaper. While affirming the story, Çelik stated it was not possible for him "to leak information from the meeting."
Reports on the poll results
According to information gathered by the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, senior party officials voiced their analysis about the elections for each region and city while Erdoğan mainly listened during a top decision-making body meeting of the AKP late Tuesday.
"The local elections have their specific nature. Many factors including the selection of the candidates and the policies pursued in the province did have an effect on the polls. It can be said that the economic crisis had limited effects on the results. We are still leading the polls in 63 towns of 81 on the basis of votes cast for the provincial assemblies. Except for Mersin, our votes are above 20 percent. The polls have proven once again that the AKP is everywhere in Turkey," said the party officials while examining the results.
Many others even accepted their failure to create strong bonds with the electorate and openly took the blame. Having listened all the evaluations, Erdoğan ordered his aides to report the election results in detail and list the shortcomings that caused the drop in the support.
It was also agreed to continue the deliberations every month, which will be coupled with Erdoğan’s separate meetings with the deputies of the towns where the party has lost the ground. The prime minister will later make necessary amendments in the government and in the party organizations after completing conventions of the party’s provincial conventions in October. The AKP’s general convention is likely to be held in early November and will constitute the platform for Erdoğan to renew the members of his party’s top decision-making body.
The change in the party organizations will likely be coupled with revisions in the Cabinet. Erdoğan reportedly told his ministers about his intention to change some ministers in the first Cabinet meeting on Monday. But Erdoğan did not give clues about who will be dismissed from the Cabinet and who the new ministers will be.
But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out for a leak to the press about a closed Cabinet meeting concerning the changes, which would also include increased attention to towns where the party lost ground.
According to daily Sabah’s headline story yesterday, ministers who wanted to make a gesture to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared their readiness to resign from their positions.
"The Cabinet meeting is secret. [The newspaper says] the story was confirmed by six ministers. É If they do so, I’ll show them the door," Erdoğan said yesterday during a news conference before his departure to London.
It was later reported that the press office of the Prime Ministry questioned the daily Sabah’s editors about the source of the leak and that was how Erdoğan learned that six ministers confirmed the story. Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak is a senior executive at Çalık Holding, the owner of the daily Sabah. The purchase of the Sabah-ATV group by the Çalık Holding through unusual credit from public banks caused controversy last year.
"It is not possible for my ministers to make such a statement. The daily claimed that they confirmed the event, asking six ministers. How could six ministers disclose a closed meeting?" Erdoğan said, calling on the daily to prove its allegation. "The media should act responsibly. While writing a headline, it should think about whether it serves the benefit of the country."
Erdoğan also dismissed the allegations that point to a Cabinet reshuffle as a result of the decrease in the AKP’s votes in Sunday’s local elections. "The Cabinet reshuffle cannot be associated with the elections. It is related to performance," the prime minister said.
Nazlı Ilıcak, a columnist for daily Sabah, said in an interview with private channel Habertürk TV yesterday that there was a misunderstanding about the report and that it was only normal to report such news. "I do not approve of the prime minister’s attitude toward the media and journalists. He should let the journalists do their own job," she said.
In the same story, Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik, the AKP’s Van deputy, seems to be the only minister who is against total resignation from the Cabinet, arguing that "such a move would only work to prove our failure." Çelik, who himself is on the firing line because of losing the municipality of Van, said in a written statement yesterday that his words were distorted by those who leaked the story to the newspaper. While affirming the story, Çelik stated it was not possible for him "to leak information from the meeting."
Reports on the poll results
According to information gathered by the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, senior party officials voiced their analysis about the elections for each region and city while Erdoğan mainly listened during a top decision-making body meeting of the AKP late Tuesday.
"The local elections have their specific nature. Many factors including the selection of the candidates and the policies pursued in the province did have an effect on the polls. It can be said that the economic crisis had limited effects on the results. We are still leading the polls in 63 towns of 81 on the basis of votes cast for the provincial assemblies. Except for Mersin, our votes are above 20 percent. The polls have proven once again that the AKP is everywhere in Turkey," said the party officials while examining the results.
Many others even accepted their failure to create strong bonds with the electorate and openly took the blame. Having listened all the evaluations, Erdoğan ordered his aides to report the election results in detail and list the shortcomings that caused the drop in the support.
It was also agreed to continue the deliberations every month, which will be coupled with Erdoğan’s separate meetings with the deputies of the towns where the party has lost the ground. The prime minister will later make necessary amendments in the government and in the party organizations after completing conventions of the party’s provincial conventions in October. The AKP’s general convention is likely to be held in early November and will constitute the platform for Erdoğan to renew the members of his party’s top decision-making body.
The change in the party organizations will likely be coupled with revisions in the Cabinet. Erdoğan reportedly told his ministers about his intention to change some ministers in the first Cabinet meeting on Monday. But Erdoğan did not give clues about who will be dismissed from the Cabinet and who the new ministers will be.