RIVAL conservative parties forces yesterday to end the Islamists' strongest bid for power in officially secular Turkey and bring to a close a five month political impasse.
The two leaders, both freemarketeering conservatives who share a pro Western vision for the Nato member republic, set aside personal rivalry to seal a minority government pact envisaging a rotating premiership for the first time in Turkey.
"We are pleased to see that two parties which are close to one another have come to the stage of signing a coalition pact," caretaker Prime Minister, Ms Tansu Ciller, told a news conference signing the deal with Mr Yilmaz.
Under the deal Mr Yilmaz will serve as prime minister first, followed by Ms filler for two years from the beginning of 1997. Mr Yilmaz would take up the post again for the fourth year, before ceding place to another member of Ms Ciller's True Path Party (DYP).
"I believe this is the most logical resolution from the picture thrown up by the elections," said Mr Yilmaz.
He is expected to give President Suleyman Demirel a cabinet list for approval next week, and the government should go for a parliamentary vote of confidence by mid March.
Mr Yilmaz's Motherland Party (ANAP) and Ms Ciller's DYP do not have enough deputies for an absolute majority in the 550 seat parliament, but they have support from a leftist party.
Turkey has been under caretaker rule since Ms Ciller's coalition with the Social Democrats collapsed in September and squabbling between party leaders prolonged the deadlock beyond December's general elections.
Ms Ciller said the premiership had been the biggest single obstacle for the coalition between the parties, which share essentially the same outlook.
"Someone had to make a sacrifice, I made this sacrifice," she said.
The two leaders signed a 25 page programme for their government, which will first set out to treat the country's economic ills, such as 80 per cent annual inflation and try to end a Kurdish rebellion in the southeast.
Apart from Ms Ciller and Mr Yilmaz's bitter animosity, which could always resurface, their minority government will depend on the support of Mr Bulent Ecevit and his party, which opposes privatisation and many of the conservatives' other economic policies.
Mr Ecevit promised and then failed to support Ms Ciller's attempt at a minority government in October.
Mr Yilmaz said for the government to be successful, the members of both parties had to forget their rivalry of the past decade and work as if they belonged to the same party.
The Islamists came first in the December elections in their best result in Turkey's 73 year secular history, but no party won a ruling majority.