Babacan confesses to cronyism

It seems however that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, under criticism for cronyism, is set to gets its grips on the last stronghold of the bureaucracy, which has so far remained more or less immune to politics.

I had previously mentioned the fact that top positions in some departments in the ministry, like the Caucasus, have been left unfilled for at least more than a year. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan had not offered any explanation for holding the appointments for such a long time but most believed that instead of relying on the ministry’s internal merit system, he was rather in search of "names he could trust," diplomats who he can say is, "one of us."

I raised the issue with Minister Babacan during the luncheon held Wednesday by the Foreign Economic Relations Council. This is the answer I got: "I am coming from the business world. Businessmen would understand this. The important thing is to do business, to have results. It is only natural for any government to work with a team it can trust, a team that works. Sometimes a person does the work of 10 people. Sometimes 10 people cannot do the job of one person."

Referring to the fact that I gave the example of the Caucasus department where two top posts have been waiting to be filled for more than a year, Babacan added, "The success of our policies on the Caucasus issue is appreciated by everybody. This is teamwork."

Now, one could see this answer from a positive angle and congratulate the handful of diplomats in the Caucasus department for their miraculous work worth the performance of a bigger team.

But there is the other side of the coin. While the minister praises a handful of diplomats for their outstanding work, he in a way, insults the rest of the ministry by confessing that he could not find two diplomats that could fill the top two positions in a political department. Where will he find those "talented," or should I say "pious" enough personalities to fill these positions? From outside of the ministry?

By openly saying that he is looking for people he can trust and that if he cannot find them, he will leave these positions vacant, Babacan confesses, without having any feeling of shame, to cronyism. He might as well let us know what his criteria for "trust" are.

There have been rumors in the capital that some diplomats have gotten in to the habit of refraining from taking alcohol under the presence of politicians from the AKP. The number of those going to Friday prayer from among diplomats has even increased some say.

We will see in the future what kind of a contribution the pious or those who pretend to be pious diplomats will bring to Turkish foreign policy.

As to the present foreign policy situation, Babacan’s answers to questions on current issues carried two important clues. The first was on the question of U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. Although the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson denied any request from Washington to use Turkish territory for the troop withdrawal, Babacan made it clear that the government is willing to offer its assistance. It is unimaginable for the United States to not raise the issue with Ankara. There are unofficial talks, a source close to the ministry told me. Apparently, Washington refrains from raising the issue officially with fear that it can share the same faith with the Bush administration when the latter asked to open a front from Turkey. Concerned that Turkey can come up with a list of requests or a bill with lots of zeros, Obama administration is said to have kept the discussions low profile.

Another clue given by Babacan is the fact that Ankara is waiting for the French and the Americans to knock on its door for the return of France to NATO’s military structure. Although it remains an open secret that France will get two top military positions within the Alliance, in return for its come back, he said that the modalities of the French decision to rejoin NATO’s military wing is not yet clear. "There will be a give and take between France and NATO. And we are ready for the talks," he said.

Personally my reading of his message is that although the government might not go as far as creating obstacles to the modalities when it will be officially raised within NATO, it is nevertheless expecting some kind of negotiation to take place between Ankara, Paris and Washington.