"New" Cabinet Presented
Erdogan met with Gül at the Cankaya Palace on Wednesday (29 August) and stayed for over an hour.
He told the press: "I believe we have formed a strong cabinet."
Sezer did not look at list
Erdogan had initially wanted to present his cabinet to President Sezer on 16 August, but Sezer had told him to keep the list for the new president. This had been interpreted as a "gesture" by Erdogan, but as a slight by others. Erdogan has said that he made "one or two changes" to the list before presenting it to Gül.
Instead of the previous 22, there will be 24 ministers. Despite rumours of more female ministers, women are still underrepresented, with only one woman minister, Nimet Cubukcu, who is continuing in her role as State Minister for Families.
Many old ministers have remained in cabinet, but some have changed their posts. Gül's office of Minister of Foreign Affairs has been handed over to Ali Babacan, who will also remain responsible for negotiations with the EU.
The former Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, and his former duty has been taken over by Mehmet Ali Sahin.
Former Parliament Speaker Bülent Arinc has not been given a post in cabinet.
Former Minister of the Interior, Abdülkadir Aksu has also not been reinstated. Instead, Besir Atalay has taken over.
Eight new cabinet ministers
There are also eight new ministers:
Mustafa Said Yazicioglu: now State Minister, he has a background in the Directorate for Religious Affairs. This is his second term as an AKP MP.
Mehmet Simsek: he is now State Minister responsible for the economy. He has spent several years in the USA.
Faruk Celik: Minister for Employment and Social Security. Has previously worked in the Ministry for Education.
Nazim Ekren: has been appointed as State Minister and one of three Deputy Prime Ministers. He is a professor of applied economics.
Hayati Yazici: also State Minister and another Deputy Minister. A lawyer, he has worked in the Ministry of Justice.
Veysel Eroglu: has been appointed as Minister for the Environment and Forestry. During Erdogan’s time as mayor of Istanbul, he was responsible for the Water Works. He takes over from Osman Pepe, who is not in cabinet anymore.
Zafer Caglayan: now Minister of Industry and Trade. He is an engineer who has worked in the Ankara Chamber of Industry and at the Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges.
Ertugrul Günay: Minister for Culture and Tourism. A lawyer, he has formerly been an MP for the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
"The old cabinet wearing make-up"
Parties of the Left, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and the Greens have found the new cabinet disappointing, calling it "the old cabinet wearing make-up". They commented on the appointments and on the restructuring of some ministries.
Mustafa Yalciner of the Labour Party (EMEP) said: "This means that the same politics will be pursued with new faces. The cabinet has an "Americanist Islam" approach. What Yusuf Halacoglu [the historian] said [about Kurds and Armenians], what Erdogan said to [journalist] Bekir Coskun [about giving up Turkish citizenship] are all related. If the Prime Minister can behave towards Coskun in that way, then pity the workers..."
"The new Minister of Justice will also insist on not abolishing Article 301. Cicek or Sahin, it does not make a difference. And Atalay [the new Minister of the Interior] will not be different from Aksu."
"The AKP is making space in its ruling echelons in order to increase its staff. For instance, I do not believe that the AKP is going to do anything to solve the water crisis. The 'Ministry for Water' will just be for show."
Aydemir Güler of the Turkish Communist Party (TKP): "This legislative period will be a continuation of the last, with privatisations, restructuring of local government and discussions about a new constitution."
"During Aksu's time in office [as Minister of the Interior], countless murders were committed and there were provocations. It is not enough that he is excluded from cabinet. The events during his time in office need to be investigated."
"After privatisation policies which have left Turkey's water reservoirs dry with their plundering operations, they needed to pretend to be doing something."
Ümit Sahin, Coordinator of the Turkish Greens' Climate Change and Global Ecology, said: "Only one or two names have been taken out of the cabinet because they had been criticised. The presence of Harun Simsek means that there will be more emphasis on neo-liberal policies. The fact that the Minister of Environment and Forestry has changed is positive."
"The fact that Cicek [former Minister of Justice] has been promoted to Deputy Prime Minister means that they do not have a problem with his attitude towards the Hrant Dink murder or Article 301. It is positive that Aksu is not in the cabinet, but we cannot know if he has been kept away because of the Dink murder or because of the "deep state".
"Water is a priority. I believe that Eroglu's appointment in Pepe's place is positive. When Eroglu was the director of the State Water Works, he worked on climate change and droughts. It is possible that the choice of Eroglu means that there will be work done on droughts. But as long as energy and transportation are not dealt with, all plans will be superficial."
Ufuk Uras, MP for the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), said: "This is a 'retouched' cabinet. The policies, rather than the people, are important."
"Cicek has been promoted. He has been known as someone who has opposed writers, caricaturists, intellectuals and the working class. The AKP is such a party anyway. It is positive that Aksu is not in the cabinet. He has been criticised by all sections of the opposition."
"The restructured ministries have to be considered separately. It is positive that there is a separate Ministry for Culture and Tourism. I cannot comment on the other changes yet."
Selma Irmak of the Democratic Society Party (DTP): "The AKP has forgotten the promise of democracy it made during the election campaign."
"One can say that it is positive that Aksu has been dismissed from the cabinet and that people from the left, such as Ertugrul Günay, are taking offices, but this does not mean that different policies will be pursued. If the mentality stays the same, then it does not matter that Cicek is not continuing in his old position."
"Once the government has announced its programme, some things will become clearer. Without the programme, it is not clear what the changes have been made for." (AG/GG/EÜ)
* This article has also used information from the Radikal newspaper.
