Those entering the Turkish cabinet are bound to sweat
The new cabinet has been announced. Right after the announcement, we have witnessed how everyone lacks information about the system and we have seen uncertainties about the new system.
Once we have heard Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar was named defense minister, we have started to ask:
“Will he fulfill both duties, defense minister and chief of general staff? Is that possible in the new system?”
Some said the president could even select someone outside of the army and appoint him as general chief of staff. Some said the high military council will gather and choose the chief of general staff. Others speculated that according to tradition, the highest ranking military officer would become the chief of general staff.
All these speculations were not done by my acquaintances or friends and relatives. These were voiced by pundits, political scientists, and journalists from Ankara.
The system is brand new. Many details, procedures, and how anything will be implemented are not clear.
At the end of the day, Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Yaşar Güler was appointed Chief of General Staff under the first presidential decree published in the official gazette.
The private sector makes it to the cabinet
Some of the ministers that made it to the cabinet are from the public sector, business owners, or executives.
General comments are along the lines of “we need people in the cabinet who have worked and sweat in the sector, who knowsthe problems of the sector.”
I have always written about it. Our longest term investment and the most important area of decision is education.
All the ministries are obviously very important. But suppose the economy starts deteriorating. You can make some decisions and the economy can recover in five years.
You might introduce a very good justice reform. In two years’ time, you can rebuild the confidence in both the nation and foreign investors.
But once you miss five years in education, you miss a generation and you lose the next 40 years of the country. As a result, nothing, not even the justice system, the economy, or the health sector will work, even if you were to do somersaults.
In my opinion, there is an urgent need for well-bred individuals and that should be our priority. The first place we should dedicate our resources and our wisdom should be education. In this respect, in the cabinet that was announced, I will first take a look at the education minister.
Even if I did not know Ziya Selçuk, after small research, his views in what he has written so far have inspired hope.
We have a lot of problems. The system has been shaken upside down on several issues.
The mission of the new ministers should be to declare a mobilization in their respective areas to catch up with the contemporary world.
There is a Turkish saying: One who enters a hamam is bound to sweat.
Those who have entered the cabinet will sweat a lot. At least, I hope.
We are currently entering a new story with a lot of unknowns. Let’s see what will happen.
