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Nationalists question Turkey's EU bid

The right wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) which more than doubled its share of the vote is expected to play a key role in the formation of a new government led by incumbent Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli told Turkish newspapers his party felt there was "a serious need for reassessment" of Turkey's relations with the EU and its reasons for joining the union.

"The nationalists have serious concerns about handing over national sovereignty," he is quoted as saying.

He added that Turkey should consider other opportunities, "for example with the Turkic states of Central Asia."

During the election campaign, Mr Bahceli said European nations should abandon their "hostile" policies toward Turkey.

According to preliminary results, the MHP came second with around 18% of the vote in Sunday's general election.

That would give them 130 seats in the 550-seat parliament, to the 136 seats of Mr Ecevit's Democratic Left Party. In Turkey's previous election the party did not gain a single seat.

The MHP's success was at the expense of the pro-Islamist Virtue Party, which suffered a major loss of support.

Likely partners

On Tuesday MHP leaders challenged Mr Ecevit to embrace them in government following their electoral success. Analysts consider the most that the two parties together with the centre-right Motherland Party, which won 13% of the vote, are the most likely to form a workable coalition.

Mr Bahceli has already expressed an interest in such a coalition and said the MHP would "strive to find a middle road" between the two parties. But he said "we will not make too many concessions."

The MHP is likely to demand several important ministerial posts, but Mr Ecevit has said that he will not be drawn on which other parties he planned to bring into his government until official results have been declared.

Correspondents say such a government would be likely to rule out compromises with Kurdish activists and adopt a tougher policy toward Cyprus.

The DSP and MHP have a history of conflict dating back to the 1970s, when supporters of left and right fought bloody street battles that led eventually to a 1980 military coup.

The general election was not officially due until late next year, but the date was brought forward when the current parliament produced nothing more than a series of weak coalitions.

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