Constitution’s fate unclear

The atmosphere in the ruling party is this: "The military totally changes the Constitution by coup d’Žtats, why can’t Parliament change it through consensus, and as those elected by the will of people?"

This state of spirit urges the AKP to seek a comprehensive amendment in the Constitution. Erdoğan announced that the first thing to do following the polls was to seek constitutional change. When a student asked "when will we be rid of this constitution of coup?" he said: "in April." Then Erdoğan added that the AKP wanted Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan’s involvement in this. Toptan had previously made an attempt and met leaders of the other political parties; however, failed to bring about the formation of a "Constitutional Conciliation Commission." Can Erdoğan and his team be successful this time with the constitutional change attempt?

The answer is in the March 29 elections and is directly linked to the AKP’s vote margin because the AKP formed the government in 2002 with 34 percent of the vote but did not have the courage to make comprehensive modifications to the Constitution. They did not even take any steps to bring the freedom to wear headscarves in university but did call for "patience" from the grassroots. Winning the 2007 general elections with 47 percent of the vote, the AKP took more courageous steps and made a board of academics prepare a "civilian Constitution."

Backed by the Nationalist Movement Party the AKP rolled up its sleeves for a regulation on the headscarf ban. But the closure case of the party ended this ambitious attempt. An AKP election victory of 47 percent or higher will stimulate the AKP to make changes to the Constitution.

The picture on Wednesday showed that the election results would not only help take the pulse of the street and city administrations but will also determine the fate of the Sept. 12 Constitution.
SECOND ARTICLE

Offer made ’too late’

CHP leader, Deniz Baykal, made a "nevruz" move this week. He submitted two separate motions to declare March 21 as a "nevruz fest" for Kurds and Turks to celebrate the coming of the spring and asked in the second that May Day be an official "holiday." However, Atilla Kaya of the MHP and the pro-Kurdish Democratic People’s Party, or DTP, deputies had submitted motions previously in order for Nevruz to be an official holiday. Plus, Agah Kafkas of the AKP, Akın Birdal and Osman Özçelik of the DTP also made similar proposals.

The CHP administration overlooked all and reiterated the same thing in a new "move". In the July 22, 2007 general elections, the CHP did not get along with the Kurds and workers but this time they are apparently sending a "signal" to attract them. This is, however, a "late" message that will remain as nothing but just a promise. The reason is that without the government’s support it is impossible to pass such a bill. What can we say? If the ballot box is on the horizon, promises keep coming.