For the first time since their rise to power in 2002, they failed to increase their support base but rather lost 8 percent while the two main opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), increased their percentage of the vote. Although with over 39 percent of the vote the AK Party remains by far the most popular party, its failure to come close to the 47 percent it won in the 2007 parliamentary elections, as well as having to face decreased support in some constituencies considered to be AK Party strongholds, has come as a big disappointment to the party's leadership. In particular, the party failed to make any ground in the Southeast, where the Democratic Society Party (DTP) had great success -- contrary to the AK Party's perception of them as a spent force. This demonstrates that it is going to take more than a new Kurdish television station and a free refrigerator to win the hearts and minds of those living in this still-troubled region. The nation has warned the AK Party that nothing should be taken for granted; they have shown Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the "yellow card."At the same time, the environment for this election was not particularly conducive to making gains. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find another democratically elected party anywhere in Europe that is so popular after almost seven years in office. With an ongoing economic crisis (which Turkey is battling far better than many other countries, including some EU member states), increased unemployment, lingering corruption allegations and a stagnant reform process, among other things, losses were to be expected. Clearly this is very different from the situation in the 2007 general elections, when the economy was flying high and the AK Party was able to gather sympathy and support following the unfortunate involvement of the military in the presidential elections and the candidacy of Abdullah Gül. But there can also be no doubt that Prime Minister Erdoğan's increasingly domineering, bullying and often high-handed behavior has also cost him votes. I hope this result will be a warning to the prime minister that the inflexible and bullish approach he has taken to some issues over the last two years has to end. With power comes responsibility and there have been times when the prime minister has abused the gift that the people gave him. Hopefully this result will take some wind from the AK Party's sails and prevent them from charging ahead on controversial issues unilaterally without seeking compromise with other players.
But what does this mean for Turkey's somewhat stagnant relations with the EU? Well, this is indeed the moment of truth. Even though the AK Party has lost some support, it still has a powerful mandate and is in a strong enough position to move forward with EU-related reforms. Both Prime Minister Erdoğan and President Gül made strong commitments to the EU that once the election was over with they would be cracking on with EU business -- no more excuses, no more lip service. It is time for the country's new chief EU negotiator, Egemen Bağış, to dust off the EU dossier and start to transform words into deeds. It is time for the AK Party to make a real push and not repeat the same old rhetoric of the past which, unfortunately, has already started to circulate in some media -- namely that the election result will make the party careful about which reforms it carries out, including a new civilian constitution, because it does not want to antagonize its secularist opponents. The EU believes that a new constitution is core to the transformation of Turkey. Other priorities should be more directly addressed, such as freedom of expression and religious and linguistic rights, in line with EU standards. Another area of crucial importance is to crack down on the appalling "honor killings," which, according to recent news reports, numbered over 200 in 2008.
And in this respect it also the moment of truth for Deniz Baykal and the CHP. When he visited Brussels in February, Baykal stated in no uncertain terms that the CHP was behind the EU reform process 100 percent. But, as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and all those to whom Mr. Baykal spoke in Brussels will be watching him very closely. His words need to be transformed into votes in Parliament. It is time for the CHP to begin acting in a pragmatic and responsible way and carrying through on its election promises, including supporting Turkey's EU membership goal. Working with each other, rather than against each other, will put the country in a much better position to make much-needed progress to get its reform process back on track.
