The history of the CHP is the history of Turkey.
The CHP is a political party that founded and governed the modern Turkish Republic and built the founding principles of the Republic. A century ago, under the leadership of the party's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, all the assets that the party built, or in other words, added to the values of the country, have been and continue to be the lifeblood of the country economically.
However, a political party that has left such a mark on Turkish political history is preoccupying the country's agenda with intra-party bickering, as it does every period.
It would not be unfair to describe the history of the CHP as “the history of the struggle of CHP members against CHP members”. As a matter of fact, the debates within the CHP continue to occupy the agenda today.
So who is right in these debates? Former President Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu? Or, in his words, those who stab him in the back?
Before getting into these discussions, I think it would be appropriate to say a few words about the former President Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
First of all, after Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was elected president in 2010, he continued to make politics through the politics of rhetoric, the chronic disease of the CHP, which for the first five years did not produce politics other than holding group meetings from Tuesday to Tuesday and being an orator. However, in the following period, he abandoned the politics of rhetoric and turned to the politics of action, which is why we started to see the CHP and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on the streets and among the people.
Of course, it is also known that he has taken some political steps that we are very angry, criticize and find wrong. So what did Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu do in terms of the politics of action? Here are some of his main political actions that we can remember, which have eliminated the classical opposition politics.
- Marching from Ankara to Istanbul for justice
- Unassigned teachers knocked on the door of the Ministry of National Education.
- He held a press conference at the door of TÜİK because TÜİK was manipulating the public by providing false information.
- He ensured that the subcontracted workers were hired.
- Claiming that the security of the country was in danger, he raided SADAT and drew attention to the danger.
- In order to give the country's democracy a breath of fresh air, he gave 15 deputies to the IYI Party, enabling the IYI Party to form a group in the Parliament and participate in the elections.
- ‘He invited center-right voters to the party, saying ’We will make peace' and gathered Tahir Elçi's wife and Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu's son around a table he called the Halil İbrahim Table.
- “I will not let the ‘Gang of Five” take the rights of the unborn child of this country," he said, adding that he would take 418 billion dollars from these gangs and distribute it to the people.
- He asked for an accounting of the $128 billion the Central Bank sold through the back door
- It provided a step towards solving, albeit partially, the problems of those who have been struggling for years, those who have been stuck in retirement age and those who are waiting for 3600 additional indicators.
- ‘By saying ’I will give bonuses to pensioners on two holidays', he ensured that the pension bonus regulation was made
However, what Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has done politically could be listed here for pages and pages. Of course, it is also obvious that he has made political mistakes that have made us angry from time to time.
However, in the recent process, those closest to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, under the name of “change”, carried out an operation against him and ousted him from the chairmanship.
Özgür Özel and Ekrem İmamoğlu led this ‘change’.
So what has changed in the CHP? Frankly, nothing!
Because Veli Ağbaba, Selin Sayek Böke, Ali Mahir Başarır, Bülent Tezcan, Ali Mahir Başarır, Ali Mahir Başarır, Bülent Tezcan and many others, almost all of the former members of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's team, found a place in Özgür Özel's team.
First of all, “change” happens in action, not in rhetoric, Mr. Özgür Özel, this is one!
And you can't tell new things to this society with old faces, that's two...
You are now in the political arena as the first party of the last election, thanks to the environment created by the economic crisis and the fruits of the crops that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu planted in the political field despite many shortcomings.
My wish is for the CHP to run from success to success under your leadership. However, despite the fact that you became the new general chairman with this understanding, you started to consume the credit given to you very quickly, especially because you sided with the AKP under the name of “softening” in politics.
This situation started to create unrest within the party and some groups and party delegates started to put pressure on Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to withdraw him from the political scene. Because everyone in the party is asking the following question:
“What political discourse did the CHP leadership produce or carry out in the local elections that got them these votes?”
The CHP leadership's political approach will determine whether these votes are permanent or a one-term reaction vote.
Despite everything, as a former youth branch chairman and party member, I believe that everyone should unconditionally and unconditionally fight for the success of CHP. Because we are tired of the political understanding that “when it comes to the country, the rest is nothing more”.
However, the most distinctive feature of this party is that it is loyal and stays away from ambush culture. In this context, I do not approve of the way in which former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is being forced out of politics and I believe that this talk of “change” is just a signboard. Because no one can tell us about the sincerity of change in a political environment where those who say “the only thing that does not change is change” distribute tenders to “gangs of five”.
Those who criticize the government's press for “creating its own media” and yet host 75 journalists in Rome and pay for their expenses from municipal budgets cannot tell me about the sincerity of the change.
Because those who look for politicians who are loyal to them in municipal elections; who make their own spouse, friend and lawyer mayor cannot tell me about the sincerity of change.
Those who come with the rhetoric of change and dock at the AKP harbor under the name of “political détente” cannot tell me about the sincerity of change...
Those who said they would consult with MIT to accept members to CHP...
Those who responded to the call made before the hearing of the lawsuit against their former chairman by saying ‘our place is clear, the side of the people’ and went abroad before the hearing...
Those who set up armies of trolls to insult their former leaders, who paid the price when necessary to get themselves on the political stage and into many positions they could never have imagined, should not talk to me about ‘change'.
From this point of view, those dagger throwers, whom Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on a national channel that “I was stabbed” but did not name names out of political courtesy, are all the “zoomers” who led the CHP towards ANAPization under the name of change and all those who jumped up and down on the podiums after the congress.
In fact, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has once again shown that he is the strongest leader in this country to fight against the Palace regime with his historic defense that turned Tayyip Erdoğan, who wanted to put him on trial, into one of the most stained defendants in history, with a will that turns into embers as it is set on fire to be burned and becomes steel as it is hit to break it.
His biggest weapon for this is that he is too clean to be blackmailed and too courageous to succumb to threats.
I will close my article with a quote by Pablo Neruda, which I love and use very often:
You can pluck all the flowers in the world, but you can never stop spring from coming.
Another one of my favorite quotes is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's “there are no hopeless events, only hopeless people”.
I don't know if I'm making myself clear.