Majority applauds AK Party's foreign policy, poll finds

The Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center conducted a survey on people's perceptions of the “new face of Turkish foreign policy.” The lead question of the survey was on people's opinion of the strategy followed by the government in foreign affairs, which is among the topics heatedly debated by the public. More than 56 percent of participants in the survey said they find the government's foreign policy “successful.” Among these participants, 12.3 percent said they find Turkish foreign policy “very successful.” Nearly 33 percent said they do not think the AK Party government is successful in foreign affairs, while 10 percent said they find the government's foreign policy “very unsuccessful.”

The remaining 2.3 percent said they had no opinion.

Turkey’s expanded presence in the foreign policy arena has long been visible to many, with some commentators suggesting that this signifies a shift in foreign policy orientation, with Ankara turning its back on the Western alliance and moving toward a closer and more institutionalized cooperation with the Islamic world instead. Ankara has consistently rejected such arguments, calling them reminiscent of a Cold War mentality.

MetroPOLL conducted the New Face of Turkish Foreign Policy survey by telephone on Jan. 3-8 among 1,614 adults residing in cities, towns and villages.

In response to claims over a change of axis in foreign policy, both President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey was moving in all directions to help achieve peace in its region.

A seemingly high interest in the MetroPOLL survey has shown that the Turkish public closely follows developments related to foreign affairs, contrary to the widespread belief that developments in the international arena would not attract the public’s attention.

Respondents were also asked about Turkey’s bid to become a full member of the European Union. Nearly 50 percent said they would vote yes if Turkey held a referendum to gauge the nation’s support for its EU bid. Almost 35 percent of those polled, however, do not support Turkey’s aspiration to join the bloc. More than 14 percent said they are not sure whether to vote yes or no in such a referendum, and 1.3 percent said they had no idea.

The support for the country’s hopes for full membership in the bloc has, however, decreased considerably when compared with previous polls. In a similar survey in 2008, for example, 62 percent said they would vote yes if a referendum was held on Turkey’s EU bid.

Participants were also asked which minister they found most successful. More than 9 percent indicated Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu while 6.6 said it was Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and 6.5 said it was State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç. A total of 5.6 percent said the most successful minister was Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu while 5.3 percent said it was Health Minister Recep Akdağ.

Most observers believe Davutoğlu has played a major role in the biggest transformation that Turkey’s foreign policy has undergone since the founding of the republic. He was appointed as foreign minister on May 1 after serving for six years as Prime Minister Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser. Davutoğlu is rightly credited with re-establishing Turkey’s role as a pivotal country in its region and has expanded cooperation with the US to the more advanced level of a model partnership whilst keeping relations with Europe on track despite growing opposition to Turkey in European countries.

Widely recognized as the man behind Turkey’s new proactive stance since 2003, Davutoğlu quit his behind-the-scenes role in 2009 and became the active chief of Turkey’s dynamic foreign policy. And over time, he proved the skeptics who feared the great theoretician could fail to adjust to the fast-changing reality of global politics very wrong.

Respondents are, however, not satisfied with the improvement in democracy in the country. According to 37.9 percent of those polled, Turkish democracy weakened in 2009. Only 24.5 percent believe it grew stronger last year, while 37.6 percent said it had not shown any change.

Nation backs strong ties with Iran

The respondents were also questioned about the improving relations between Turkey and its neighbor, Iran.

Asked whether Turkey should object to or support an embargo or attack against Iran due to its nuclear activities, 60.2 percent said Turkey should definitely stand against such a move. Only 26 percent said Turkey should back such an embargo or attack its neighbor while 13.8 said they had no idea.

In response to a question on whether they approve of statements by Prime Minister Erdoğan that support Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, 48.8 percent said “yes” while 42.6 percent said “no.”

Many Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear arms through its uranium enrichment efforts, but Erdoğan has announced support for Iran on various occasions. According to the Turkish prime minister, limiting an ongoing nuclear debate to Iran’s program is not fair.

“We are completely against nuclear weapons in the Middle East. There is a country in the Middle East that possesses nuclear weapons: Israel. There is a difference, though; Israel is not a member of the IAEA, while Iran is,” Erdoğan said in September.

However, a majority of respondents, namely 57.6 percent, acknowledged that Iran’s possession of nuclear arms would pose a threat to Turkey’s security. More than 34 percent, on the other hand, believes no such threat exists.

A full 66 percent of the respondents expressed their belief that Turkey is headed for a bad future, while 30 percent said the country is headed for a good future.

The poll was conducted from Jan. 3-8 by telephone among a random national sampling of 1,614 adults residing in cities, towns and villages. The margin of error for the overall poll was 2.5 percentage points, with a 95 confidence level.