World Bank Turkey director: The electorate said 'compromise'

Compromise. That is the message the Turkish electorate gave in the general election on June 7, according to Martin Raiser, the World Bank?s country director for Turkey.  

?Compromise is inevitable and the electorate is ready for it,? Raiser told me in an exclusive interview.

What do you think was the message of the Turkish electorate?

To me there are a couple of messages coming out of the election. The first is that people are perhaps less afraid of compromise and the inevitable messiness that a political compromise involves than many have assumed.

People are also expressing a desire for checks and balances, which obviously slow things down but are necessary to make sure one does not make mistakes. 

When I look at the composition of the new parliament, the multiple, very pluralist nature of Turkish society is much more accurately reflected. There is a much larger number of women and representatives of ethnic minorities. It?s a more colorful parliament, which better represents just how colorful and varied Turkey is. 

I also think the campaign was interesting for the salience of certain issues, and I think politicians should take messages from that. Some people put the peace process on top of the agenda, others cite unemployment and the future of economic growth, others express a strong desire to see strengthening of the rule of law.
These are the messages that would have to be considered in the current negotiations. I think compromise is inevitable and it seems to me the electorate has anticipated that and is ready for it.

Many believe that this time election campaigns were more focused on the economy. Did that particularly strike you?

From the World Bank?s point of view, I think there was a...