ABSTRACT
The Turkish party structure presents a natural division in democratic left, democratic right and conservative 'extremist' parties. It should be underlined that from the genesis of the multi-party system in 1950 until the beginning of the 1990s the Turkish electorate with a remarkable stability voted with 80" for the democratic parties, and generally speaking with more than 40" for the right and less than 40" for the left. The problem accordingly is less of a crisis for democracy than for the democratic parties and their leaders. The party splits and the lack of ability to take efficient measures against corruption play an important role. Concerning Europe the democratic parties are united behind a closer association to the EU, while the extreme right is more tempted by panturanic cooperation with the Central Asian republics, and Erbakan in principle and in election campaigns distances himself from the West and wants to see Turkey as a member of a union of Islamic countries.
