Efforts to unite Turkish politics not off to a good start

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Thursday, June 29, 2006

The first three days of Rahşan Ecevit's effort to unite the center-right and center-left under Eskişehir Mayor Yılmaz Büyükerşen against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) seemingly came to naught with the only response being either mooted praise coupled with indifference or outright hostility.
Ecevit, after visiting former President Süleyman Demirel and Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, returned to the Democratic Left Party (DSP) on Wednesday where she had served as deputy leader under her husband Bülent Ecevit.
In her meeting with the DSP's current leader Zeki Sezer, seen as very loyal to the Ecevits, Rahşan Ecevit said her husband, before being hospitalized, was very worried about the trajectory Turkey was taking under the AKP. “He had said Turkey would eventually solve its domestic problems, but foreign problems could not tolerate any mistake. My husband had noted the necessity of an alliance without any ideological barriers as being necessary for the wellbeing of the country.
Sezer said Turkey faced many problems and added that it was impossible for him not to agree with what everything Rahşan Ecevit said.
He said the DSP would do its utmost to facilitate cooperation and alliance in the near future.
When asked about what CHP leader Baykal said about their efforts, Sezer said: “Baykal has been taking a moderate stance as of late. It made us ask ourselves if he was changing. However, we saw yesterday [Tuesday] how wrong we had been. Baykal has not changed. We want an agreement. There is no room for arguments.”
At the CHP parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, Baykal said their party would have nothing to do with unnatural and unethical movements, arguing that they did not discriminate among people on being conservative or center-rightist, welcoming all as long as they believed in the republic and respected democracy and secularism.
Baykal said the CHP would never be part of artificial solutions. “I respect everyone's role, but artificial efforts cannot lead to solutions.”

Center-right also cool towards unity:
It was already known that the True Path Party (DYP) leader is quite cool towards any sort of alliance, but at the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) parliamentary group on Wednesday, it became apparent that ANAVATAN leader Erkan Mumcu was also against any such initiative.
He said such initiatives were usually directed at other opposition parties, not to the government.
Mumcu said such initiatives were good as long as they truly tried to unite, dismissing the rest as efforts by former politicians to become relevant in today's politics.
He said these people, knowingly or not, were helping the government by sowing division within opposition parties, noting that his party was distant to such efforts