Ecevit retains party leadership

Ankara - The Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Bulent Ecevit, yesterday comfortably retained the leadership of his Democratic Left Party…

Ankara - The Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Bulent Ecevit, yesterday comfortably retained the leadership of his Democratic Left Party (DSP) at a congress held in the capital, Ankara.

The result firmly entrenched Mr Ecevit (75) atop the biggest party in a coalition government that last week won some £10 billion in new IMF and World Bank loans to help Turkey extricate itself from an economic crisis he sparked by quarrelling publicly with the president, unnerving financial markets.