DNA incompatibility in Turkish Cyprus

Why did the left-right grand coalition of tiny Turkish Cyprus collapse? There are lots of tales but the short answer is quite simple: Gross mismanagement. At a time when Cuba has changed, the Turkish Cypriot left has insisted on remaining loyal to a Stalinist anti-private sector doctrine. Besides, as some sort of a Turkish extension of the Greek Cypriot socialist Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), being anti-Turkey is apparently embedded in the genes of the Republican Turks' Party (CTP).

A coalition of a "leftist" party always critical of Turkey and the National Unity Party (UBP), a conservative party that always appreciated Turkey's contributions and support of the Turkish Cypriot "struggle for existence and a decent life," was a very difficult experiment. One party so loyal to the Greek Cypriot compatriots and another party which considered Turkish Cypriots not different than the Turks in Anatolia of course had a "DNA incompatibility," as outgoing Prime Minister Ömer Kalyoncu commented last week on why the coalition ended.

The failed coalition government was the first CTP-led coalition with the UBP, but it was not the first time the CTP came together with a conservative government partner. It established coalition governments twice with the Democrat Party (DP) of Serdar Denkta?. In the first coalition with the DP, with encouragement from Ankara, some DP and UBP deputies were bought, a Freedom and Reform Party (ÖRP) - long disappeared - was established, a coalition was dissolved while Denkta? was on a trip to Poland and a CTP-ÖRP government was established. The failure of that coalition brought an end to Mehmet Ali Talat's presidency and landed the CTP in a humiliating electoral defeat in 2009. The second CTP-DP coalition government was...