Cynics brushed aside that move as a ploy by the Nationalist leader, Devlet Bahceli, to blackmail the coalition into letting him replace Mr Ecevit.

ECONOMIST: Turkey's reforms

But there could still be one big obstacle in the way of such a neat resolution: Devlet Bahceli, the Nationalist leader and also a deputy prime minister.

ECONOMIST: A government on the brink | The

This sense of rejection strengthened the wave of nationalism that swept the extreme-right National Action Party, led by Devlet Bahceli, into a new coalition government after the general election in April.

ECONOMIST: Turkey