Behind this dynamism is a new and enriched bourgeoisie that wants to join politics, integrate with the world and does not want to clash with the state; a bourgeoisie that possibly because of these attributes has persuaded the state to accept its identity. As the first signs of a class division within the conservative circle are manifesting, the Ak Party is essentially heading towards becoming the party of a super class.One of the most important elements of this reality is that the AK Party is a party that does not match the imagination of the state ideology, yet it is a party that the state accepts. The AK Party is to trying form an original kind of synthesis with its new cabinet. This synthesis hasn’t been completed yet and it is still in an eclectic effort phase. But the AK Party is a very young party and every cabinet reshuffle is an opportunity for it to strengthen its identity.
Some of the most attention grabbing aspects of the new cabinet are the “macro” messages it issued. In the previous term, the Ak Party had Cemil Çiçek on one end of its ideological spectrum and Ertuğrul Günay on the other end and both have managed to keep their seats in the reshuffle.
Therefore, we can say that that the AK Party wants to keep its wide spectrum and create a resilient political field. The second interesting aspect of the new cabinet is the qualities of the three deputy prime ministers, one of which is Cemil Çiçek, who is infamous for his statist views. The other deputy prime minister is Bülent Arınç, who always defends rights and justice every opportunity he has and who has even made bold statements to this end. Arınç is also a prominent representative of the National View tradition. While it seems that Çiçek and Arınç are an incompatible duo, it is clear that they will pragmatically expand the prime minister’s field of activity. The third deputy prime minister is a man who came on to the scene with the formation of the party, a man who was brought by Erdoğan and who is the brightest star in the cabinet, Ali Babacan. These three men constitute the super staff that symbolizes the state, traditional and leader triangle.
Another macro message of the new cabinet equally concerns the world as well. Turkey’s economy will undergo a transformation and become more centralized and Babacan will be in charge of coordinating the entire economy.
The Ministry of Finance, which is integral to this transformation, will be led by Mehmet Şimşek, who is familiar with the world economy and its dynamics. What we can conclude from this is that the Ak Party is moving from a local to a global perspective with respect to the economy. In other words, the new bourgeoisie that embarked on its journey by rent-seeking around local resources has developed into an identity that is looking for a place for itself on the global level.
In the analysis of the new cabinet’s “micro” messages, three names in particular stand out. The first is the appointment of Nimet Çubukçu, who is appreciated and supported by all circles, to the secularly problematic National Education Ministry. Those who know Çubukçu will know that the appointment of a lady “who does not wear the scarf,” is not a misleading gesture. They will know that she is truly a democratic lady who has a perfect and flawless political career. The National Education Ministry, which faces different demands from different identities, now has the potential to adapt a democratic attitude in the new term with Çubukçu.
The second important appointment is the appointment of former Prime Ministry Undersecretary Ömer Dinçer, who was accused of committing a crime because of unfair media manipulations in the past, as the minister of transportation. Those who know Dinçer will know that he is a strong democrat with no ties to pan-Islamicism. Although his appointment may be seen as a step to compensate for the injustice he faced earlier, it is expected that Dinçer’s identity and quality will have an impact on the general nature of the government.
The third important appointment is the appointment of Ahmet Davutoğlu, who was an architect of Turkey’s foreign policy in recent years, as the minister of foreign affairs. During the year Davutoğlu worked as an advisor, Turkey replaced its ideology based on fighting with an approach based on talking. He developed a vision not based on potential crises but one based on solidarity and sharing. This vision developed Turkey’s image as a proactive country that was working with its natural partners to build the future. His most important contribution was that he was able to do all this in line with a uniting and democratic ideology.
The appointments of these three ministers suggest the AK party government is for the first time going to have a democratic perspective in the new term. But expectations should not be raised too high because balances on the macro level are going to determine the outcome. The fact that Vecdi Gönül is still the defense minister shows us that we will continue to see an AK party that has a strong “state sensitivity.”
In a country where the state and state ideology determine the rules of politics, it truly takes skills for people who are ideologically disfavored by the state to conduct policies – especially if the state has the backing of groups who are identified as “modern” and if the media is engaging in manipulations to exhaust the “disfavored” people.
The AK Party is trying to protect its reality and make an impression politics, while swimming in dark waters.
