Left, Right Come Together in Turkey

This country’s president approved a new coalition government Friday, bringing together leftists and far-right nationalists two decades after violence between the groups left thousands dead and prompted a military coup.

The approval gives Turkey a strong executive in time for Monday’s opening of the trial of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, which many fear will spark violent protests by Kurds throughout Europe.

The far-right Nationalist Movement Party, a strong opponent of minority rights for Turkey’s Kurds, is returning to power for the first time since the 1980 coup. Veteran leftist politician Bulent Ecevit is the new premier.

The nationalists and leftists joined in rejecting any compromise with Ocalan’s rebels, who are fighting for autonomy for Kurds in Turkey’s southeast.

Ocalan faces the death penalty on treason charges.

Ecevit’s Party of the Democratic Left held on to many key positions, keeping Ismail Cem as foreign minister and appointing a senior party member, Hikmet Sami Turk, as justice minister.

Nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli was named deputy prime minister.

“May this bring good things for our country, for our nation,” Ecevit said after meeting with President Suleyman Demirel.

Ecevit, who turns 74 today, is best remembered for ordering the 1974 invasion of Cyprus. It is his fifth term as prime minister.

To form the new government, Ecevit’s supporters and the nationalists had to overcome a decades-old dispute stemming from street clashes between their two groups in the late 1970s. The violence left several thousand dead and prompted the military takeover.

Despite the strong ideological divide, many Turks hope the new coalition, which also includes the center-right Motherland Party, will be long-lasting.

Turkey has seen the collapse of five weak coalition governments since its 1995 elections. Ecevit’s coalition commands a strong majority in parliament, with 351 deputies in the 550-seat chamber.

Earlier Friday, the coalition partners announced their program, a mix of nationalism and secularism.

The government promised to maintain a ban in public offices and schools on Islamic-style head scarves, which are seen as a challenge to Turkey’s secular principles.