Difference between the president and PM

Now there is a new trend: To compare the speeches of President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and point out their differences. As a matter of fact, it is also trendy to move a bit further and guess whether there is tension between them and whether they are contradicting each other.

At the bottom of this research lies the wish to observe whether or not a tension will erupt between the two leaders of the Justice and Development Party (Ak Party) before the 2014 presidential elections.
I have found five different points between the statements of the president and the prime minister.

- Restoring the relationship with the European Union. (The president has made a very true point on this topic. He said the EU has overcome several crises and after each of them, it has recovered with more strength. Frankly, he said they will recover in the future and we should better not be late to the party.)

- The president has expressed his concerns on the presidential system.

- The president has objected to expelling the deputies of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) from the parliament.

- He said the deputies under arrest should be released.

- He was against the arrests and the creation of the atmosphere of fear in the press.
Now, it is not a correct analysis to look at these differences and come up with a solution that there are conflicts and tension between the two leaders.

Let’s not forget that Erdoğan made a political leader’s speech. His goal was to excite the thousands of followers who filled the seats in the hall, to make them stand up and cheer. He achieved that with his epic stance and with the tone of his voice and by reciting poems.

Gül on the other hand, made a president’s speech. He looked at events from a distance. He addressed every segment of the society. He expressed his views on those subjects that were highly debated. More precisely, he repeated the statements on those subjects that he had already given during the year.

No matter how different the views of Gül and Erdoğan may be, one should not expect them to have a public debate and openly speak about these differences. Neither of their culture, their habits nor their beliefs allows this. Also, no such deep difference of opinions is detected either. There may be some differences in their vision of the world and Turkey, but these differences have not turned into gaps yet. I may be wrong but it is impossible to have an exact judgment about the relationship of people, especially politicians. Also, it is unnecessary to expect that these two leaders will be cross at each other.

If you ask me, “Will Gül accept every wish of Erdoğan?” I can answer this question with a “No.” As we approach 2014, circumstances may change.

Reason for applauding Barzani
During the Ak Party Congress, when Masoud Barzaniö the leader of Iraqi Kurdistan, took the floor there was tremendous applause in the hall followed by the cheer of “Turkey is proud of you.” One segment of the society was shocked. Then some said that the cheers were for the prime minister who was entering the hall at that moment, not for Barzani.

Nobody knows if this is true or false.

What was important for me that Barzani came to that congress, made a speech and was applauded. Moreover, even if that cheer was directed to somebody else, again, it was important.

If you have observed carefully, there was no reaction to that cheer from the stands.

We should not forget that the personality of Barzani has an extremely important effect on a section of the Turkish society. He is known to keep his promises. He is a leader who does not give promises that he cannot keep and who talks frankly.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurds as well as Turkey should think and correctly assess what has been experienced during Barzani’s short visit to Ankara.