National Alliance and Common Policies Memorandum of Understanding
Although the Six Table had some problems with its communication strategy, it seems to have managed a successful negotiation process, meeting 11 times in total. The fact that a total of six commissions went beyond preparations for the elections and worked on what to do after the elections strengthens the institutional stance of a broad-based alliance.
Dear friends, the "Six Table", which was formed by six political parties, was first announced to the public on February 12, 2022 with the participation of the Republican People's Party, IYI Party, Felicity Party, Democrat Party, DEVA Party and Future Party. The main factor that brought the six different political lines together was the joint statement made at the end of the first meeting. "Our country is going through one of the deepest political and economic crises in the history of the Republic. Social, political and economic problems are increasing day by day and are having a severe impact. The most important cause of this crisis is undoubtedly the arbitrary and rule-defying administration implemented under the name of the "Presidential Government System"." With this statement, the six leaders stated that the common goal was to return to the "Strengthened Parliamentary System". Although the Six Tables initially started from the mistakes of the current government system and the uncertainty it was dragging the country into, the Six Tables evolved into a broad-based alliance that brought together different segments of society and sought solutions to different problems with a minimum common ground. It requires a difficult negotiation process for political parties representing political movements with different ideological backgrounds to define a common policy. Therefore, it is commendable that the Six-Party Talks took the responsible approach that the circumstances demanded. From another perspective, this can also be interpreted as the parties taking responsibility for the urgent needs of the country at the risk of compromising their own policies.
Although the Six Table had some problems with its communication strategy, it seems to have managed a successful negotiation process, meeting 11 times in total. The fact that a total of six commissions went beyond preparations for the elections and worked on what to do after the elections strengthens the institutional stance of a broad-based alliance. In the statement issued after the 11th meeting hosted by the Iyi Parti on January 26, 2023, the Six-Party Table preferred to define itself as the "Millet Alliance". This also means a coalition that extends beyond the elections. In the following section of this article, I will be using the term "Millet Alliance" instead of "Table of Six".
Coalitions are structures that bring together the political parties participating in the coalition on a minimum common ground. In other words, when a political party is in power alone, it has the chance to implement its policies without compromise. However, this may not always be beneficial. Because these policies are functions of the political party's ideology. There is no mechanism to oversee them politically. In coalitions, on the other hand, while determining common policies, there is the opportunity to make a different evaluation against the negative effects that may be caused by policies that are the product of a single ideology. In coalitions, policies may even be implemented in a more rational and controlled manner. In other words, the coalition can turn into an unspecified control tool of the executive. However, the coalition is portrayed as a danger by the current government by identifying it with the crises experienced, and single-party rule is called stability. This is clearly a propaganda discourse. It is necessary to open a separate parenthesis here. There are countries in the world that make stable use of coalitions for the benefit of the country. In Germany, for example, in November 2021, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) reached an agreement with the Greens and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) to form a new coalition government (1) and the government has been stable. Is the real problem the coalition or the lack of a culture of compromise and cooperation? This question needs to be answered. Because the nature of a coalition is such that the political parties that come together cannot be coalition partners by holding fast to their policies. Each party has to flex its position to a certain extent and respect the policy preferences of other parties. This is the only way to achieve the common good.
The Millet Alliance can be considered as the fruit of a process driven by historical imperatives. Because it was only under the current historical circumstances that different political parties with different ideologies, which are fundamentally different from each other under normal conditions, came together to seek solutions to the fundamental problems faced by the country and, as a result, to agree on common policies.
However, this process was not painless and smooth. In an unprecedented top-down communication strategy, a bridge was built between different segments of society through leaders. This effort is the result of an existential and moral reaction against a governance approach that blurs the distinction between the government and the state by using all the means of the state and by drawing lines that create distinctions between certain segments of society. However, despite the consensus among the leaders, the accepted (top-down) communication strategy, which I also accept to be correct, has occasionally led to ideological reactions from the senior cadres of the political party all the way down to the grassroots. These reactions should be considered natural in the cadres of political parties with different ideological foundations. Fortunately, thanks to the sensitive management of the leaders, these reactions were calmed down without harming the alliance. As a result, on January 30, 2023, the Millet Alliance announced the "Joint Policies Consensus Text" to the public. We can now look at the importance of this text and what it means.
Common Policies Memorandum and Restructuring State
First of all, I would like to explain why I used an English expression in the title. The book titled "Reinventing Government" published by Osborne and Gaebler in 1993 is a continuation of the "neo-liberal" public administration approach that started in the 1980s and advocates the downsizing of the state. In this book, the "new public management" approach advocates the reorganization of the public sector within the framework of entrepreneurship. However, this approach, which attempts to give the state an entrepreneurial character, brings with it the consequences of the marketization of public service and the customerization of the public sector. Although its long-term consequences have led to the abandonment of the approach even by its early practitioners, its influence in developing countries may continue. The Public Private Partnership (PPPP) approach, which is a function of this approach, represents an approach in which the state is structurally eroded and transformed. For these reasons, I found it appropriate to name the comprehensive "Common Policies Text" announced by the Millet Alliance at a time when the state in Turkey is facing structural problems as "Restructuring State" (referring to "Reinventing Government").
The memorandum, which is quite comprehensive and in the nature of a "government program", is an important text in many respects. A grounded program consisting of some 2300 articles under a total of 9 headings and 75 sub-headings has been announced to the public by the Millet Alliance. It can be said to be a very valuable work in the history of Turkish politics as it is a text in which the parties partially distanced themselves from their own ideological approaches as they went into detail, but agreed on common policies with full consensus. The fact that the consensus was quite comprehensive seems to have been made possible by the efforts of leaders who took responsibility in the face of historical circumstances. It is important to explain that all promises in the program are grounded in both time and cost. After the January 26 meeting, the leaders agreed on the changes that would be implemented in the first week of the election. These changes included appointments in the senior bureaucracy. Based on the idea that the attitudes of the cadres, who should remain above politics due to their qualifications and duties, during the current government period had damaged the perception of the state, it was stated that these changes would be made urgently in order to protect and strengthen the legal status of the institutions. This attitude is important as it shows the importance attached to rebuilding the prestige of the state after the change of government.
The content of the Joint Policy Memorandum has different dimensions. It is possible to categorize them differently. It can be said that some of the practices in the program are restorative, some are remedial and developmental, some are constitutive, and some are abolishing. For example, practices such as the reaffiliation of the Force Commands within the TAF to the General Staff, the opening of military hospitals, and the effective reopening of closed military schools can be seen as components of the repair process. In many areas, it is seen that remedial and developmental practices and meritocracy are envisaged. The text of the memorandum, which also includes founding practices such as the establishment of a Public Accounts Commission within the TBMM and the establishment of a Strategy and Planning Organization, promises an understanding of governance that will facilitate and improve the lives of the people in all areas.
We can say that the Joint Memorandum of Understanding is based on the promise of restoring the state's international and national prestige, and that it is comprehensive enough to realize this promise. Within this framework, we can foresee radical changes in the foreign policy implemented by the current government until today. In addition, it is also seen that the requirements of the public policy process were largely fulfilled in the preparation of the text. The language used in the drafting of each article, the attention paid to protecting the interests of different segments and enhancing their rights show that experts in the field were involved in the process. In addition, the fact that the text was declared open for improvement at the introductory meeting, rather than being accepted as final, is very important and valuable for a healthy public policy process. In other words, it was emphasized that necessary changes could be made to the text in case of necessity.
It is not possible to evaluate such a comprehensive text in a snap. Nevertheless, I have tried to share my views here. However, I think that an important source text has been put forward for the future of the country. Of course, threats to the realization of the issues in the text should not be ignored. At the end of the day, the National Alliance has presented a solid and credible program to the public, but elections have not yet been held. The inclusion of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on the cover of the text shows that the dignity and place of the Grand National Assembly in the context of the exercise of sovereignty, which belongs unconditionally to the nation, is valued by the National Alliance. It should be kept in mind that if the elections result in the success of the National Alliance, the efforts to be made for the continuation of the Alliance will be important for the success of the program.
Conclusion
The most comprehensive government program in the history of the Republic, both in terms of preparation method and resource management, has been announced to the public. At this stage, the implementation of this program will be a revolutionary achievement. However, from the moment this program was announced to the public, both the leaders who signed the program, the political parties headed by these leaders, and the citizens who intend to vote for these political parties have become responsible for the success of the program. Everyone who is responsible must act in accordance with their responsibility. It should be known by everyone that the negative consequences of sudden reactions based on emotion will be paid for by all citizens. If "State Reconstruction" is not possible, the possibility of facing the reality that we will live as less respected citizens of a less respected country in the world is not far away. In conclusion, we can say that the Common Policies Memorandum of Understanding, which was announced to the public with an introductory meeting full of hope like the darkness of the night overcoming the light of day, is a program that will provide the Republic of Turkey with the opportunity to realize the goal of "rising above the level of contemporary civilization" set by its founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
