Premier Bulent Ecevit said Monday he would step down if his economy minister is forced out. Minister Kemal Dervis offered his resignation last week, but was persuaded to stay on to avoid damaging Turkey's fragile economy and an International Monetary Fund-backed recovery program. Dervis has backed legislators who deserted Ecevit to form a new party. Dervis's support for the new party has enraged nationalists who are the largest group remaining in the struggling coalition government.

Asked if he would step down if the nationalists insist on Dervis' departure, Ecevit told Milliyet newspaper in an interview: "Of course, it would be obligatory."

Ecevit had previously said he would only resign if his government lost its majority in the 550-member parliament.

On Monday he suggested he could step down before that.

Nationalists are expected to step up pressure for Dervis' departure in the coming days.

Financial markets, which plunged last week amid reports that Dervis had quit, will monitor the future of the chief architect of an economic recovery plan backed by billions of dollars in IMF loans.

Ecevit said Dervis' presence in government was crucial for the program.

Defections from Ecevit's party have reduced the government's majority in parliament to just 12, and the squabbling three-party coalition faces a fight for survival. Newspapers suggested that more resignations could come this week as the new party begins to take shape.

Two of the ruling coalition partners are calling for early elections in the autumn. But the government may not even survive until then. Even if Ecevit does not resign, the center-right Motherland Party has hinted it could pull out, depriving the government of its majority.

PHOTO CAPTION

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit shakes hands with his deputy Mesut Yilmaz, left, before a Cabinet meeting in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Wednesday July 10, 2002. A wave of political defections left the government teetering in Turkey, and the ailing prime minister said Wednesday that he might agree to early elections if left with no choice. (AP Photo/Mustafa Abadan/Anatolia)
- Jul 10 11:53 AM ET