31 May - 6 June 2001
Issue No.536
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 May - 6 June 2001 Issue No.536 |
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New Kennedy in trouble
Public sector employees took to the streets on Saturday amid signs that the Turkish public's three month honeymoon with Minister of Economy Kemal Dervis may be drawing to a close. Gareth Jenkins reports from IstanbulSince his March recall from Washington, where he had spent the previous 23 years working as an economist at the World Bank, the 52-year-old Dervis has been feted by the Turkish media as the country's potential saviour. Untainted by the corruption and self-serving short-termism that have come to characterise Turkish politics, and which in February triggered the collapse of the Turkish Lira and plunged the country into recession, Dervis' international experience, relaxed manner and ready smile have won him a huge public following. The latest opinion polls suggest that if fresh general elections were held tomorrow none of the political parties would win more than the 10 percent of the vote necessary for representation in parliament. Yet 57 per cent of those questioned said that they would vote for Dervis if he established his own political party.
Dervis has proved equally popular outside Turkey. On 15 May the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it would extend a total $13.2 billion in loans to Turkey this year to support a programme of radical economic reforms; $3.9 billion has already been deposited with the Turkish Central Bank. But, privately, both IMF officials and Western diplomats have warned that the remainder of the money is dependent on the reforms being implemented and Dervis remaining in his post.
The measures required by the IMF include a comprehensive reform of the financial sector, including the closure of the third largest state-owned bank, Emlakbank, limits on civil service pay increases, a reduction in state subsidies to agriculture, and greater transparency in state contracts, which have traditionally been used by Turkish politicians to buy influence and enrich themselves and their followers.
The reform package was greeted with dismay by public sector workers, particularly Emlakbank employees, farmers and small businessmen, who are heavily reliant on soft loans from state-owned banks.
"Dervis is ignoring the problems facing small businesses," complained Fuat Miras, chairman of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Bourses (TOBB). "The real economy is having a collective heart attack."
Last week Dervis began a tour of Turkey's provinces in an attempt to promote his reform package. He was accompanied by his glamorous, young American wife, Catherine, who had flown over from Washington, prompting the Turkish press to begin describing Dervis as a new John F. Kennedy.
But, while Dervis was away from Ankara, civil servants and state bank employees began a series of protests. Last Friday staff from Emlakbank held a series of noisy demonstrations to protest the impending closure of the bank and the loss of their jobs. On Saturday 5,000 members of the public sector trade union KESK staged a sit-in on roads leading into Ankara, blocking traffic in protest at low wage increases and the continued refusal of the government to allow civil servants, as well as public sector workers, to join trade unions.
Dervis remains adamant that Turkey has no choice but to push through reforms. "Political interference in the state-owned banks means that they have now run up losses of over $20 billion," he said, adding that the state could not continue to borrow money to finance populist policies. "More than 90 per cent of all government revenue currently goes on paying interest on loans," he noted.
But more public protests appear inevitable. "One thing is for certain," wrote the daily Milliyet. "Dervis isn't going to have it so easy from now on."
Dervis is also likely to face increasing opposition from within the coalition government. Many politicians are unwilling to relinquish the political leverage afforded by state control of banks and high levels of agricultural subsidies. Others have become alarmed by the anti-corruption campaign by Interior Minister Saddettin Tantan of the Motherland Party (ANAP).
Last Wednesday members of the coalition government voted to block a judicial investigation into former Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer, also from ANAP, even though many high-ranking officials from the ministry are currently on trial for corruption.
Tantan's attempts to combat corruption have also run into opposition from his own party leader, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, who is desperately trying to prevent Tantan from investigating allegations of corruption involving his younger brother Turgut Yilmaz and other members of ANAP. Last week Mesut Yilmaz angrily threatened Tantan. "The public may elect politicians," said Yilmaz. "But I elect the ministers. Ministers have to comply with party principles and rules. Otherwise they pay a price."
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