NY Times: AKP may have lost political goodwill over adultery move

But the very attempt to enact legislation banning adultery may have harmed the party’s efforts to distance itself from any Islamic agenda, both at home and abroad, a lengthy New York Times article said yesterday.

The AKP had been expected to introduce the proposal on Tuesday when the deputies reconvened to vote on the new penal code. But by the end of the day, with protesters in the streets and some European officials darkly warning that it smacked of Islamic fundamentalism, the proposed law had not made an appearance. No one stepped forward even to claim ownership, the newspaper said.

It warned, however, that the proposal still cast a shadow over the AKP image. "During its brief contentious public life, however, the adultery proposal shone an unwanted spotlight on the backgrounds of the AKP leaders," the article said, noting that most of the AKP executives were members of the Welfare Party (RP), which briefly ruled in a coalition government in the mid-1990s and was removed from power in a military-engineered drive in 1997.

Erdogan has repeatedly denied the AKP was pursuing an Islamic agenda and said EU membership was a top priority for his party, pushing for a wave of far reaching reforms in order to bring Turkish laws into line with EU standards.

The New York Times highlighted that the adultery attempt came weeks before the EU Commission is expected to release a report recommending whether Turkey should start accession talks and said a number of EU leaders have already expressed doubts about whether Turkey, a majority Muslim country, belongs in Europe.

"Suspicion about the AKP intentions has not evaporated, despite its general popularity as a can-do government and its dominance of Turkish politics. Even its supporters appeared puzzled at the attempt to legislate morality at a time when Turkey has been trying to prove its European credentials," the newspaper said.

International press: AKP retreats
The government’s adultery plans have been discussed at length in the Turkish media over the last few weeks. The international press also gave considerable coverage to the controversy, highlighting that the adultery move threatened to overshadow Turkey’s EU aspirations.

The Financial Times said the government backed away from the proposed law, "bowing to pressure from civil rights groups and opposition parliamentarians and growing opposition to the plan in the European Union."

The newspaper said the decision to drop the measure was greeted with relief by Turkish and European officials, stating that the episode illustrated the EU’s influence over countries that wish to join the Union.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper said government’s attempt had shocked liberal circles in Turkey and Europe.