Bulent Ecevit may be able to form government

Mr Erez, an independent MP, was asked to start coalition negotiations by President Suleyman Demirel, when his first nominee, Bulent Ecevit, failed to win enough support for a workable government.

Mr Erez, backed by both Mr Ecevit and the outgoing Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, had said he was on the verge of annoucing his coalition, but a last minute switch of allegiance by the centre-right True Path Party, led by former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, may rob Mr Erez of the chance to lead the government.

Change of mind

Chris Morris: "The who's-up, who's-down world of Turkish politics"

In a dramatic U-turn, Mrs Ciller has now thrown her support behind Mr Ecevit, a veteran left winger, whose failure to come up with a coalition in the first round of negotiations was mostly caused by lack of support from Mrs Ciller.

Although Mr Erez is not directly affected by the Mrs Ciller's change of mind - she refused to support him rival from the outset - he might lose the backing of Mr Ecevit, who could now succeed in forming a government.

Mr Ecevit's Democratic Left party has 61 seats, Mr Yilmaz's Motherland Party has 136, while Mrs Ciller's party has 99 seats, giving a combined 296, which would secure a comfortable majority in the 550 seat parliament.

Yalim Erez' chances are now slim

"I am on standby," Mr Ecevit said. "Everything is up to the president."

Mr Demirel has indicated that he would only turn again to Mr Ecevit if Mr Erez' efforts failed.

"I have no intention of giving up," Mr Erez told reporters, but most of Tuesday's Turkish newspapers thought his chances were slim.

Personal rivalry

The BBC Correspondent in Ankara, Chris Morris says that Mrs Ciller's change of mind is partly motivated by personal rivalry: Mr Erez used to be her close confidante until they fell out in 1997, and Mr Erez left the True Path Party.

Mrs Ciller also alleged that the appointment of Mr Erez was part of a plan to postpone early general elections which are scheduled to take place in April. She is determined that the elections will go ahead, and believes that her party can make gains.

Our correspondent says, however, that another election could well produce a parliament even more divided than the current one.