Hüseyin Baş is one of the young politicians who has managed to make a name for himself in recent years. While it was not known whether he would be able to sustain the Independent Turkey Party (BTP), of which he became the chairman after his father Prof. Dr. Haydar Baş, he started to make a name for himself and introduce himself to Turkey with a surprising performance.
Upon an invitation, my friend Atakan Sönmez and I followed the ordinary congress of the Independent Turkey Party (BTP), which has developed an oppositional discourse and continues to maintain this line, last Sunday at the Ankara Keçiören Taha Akgül Sports Center on behalf of Halkweb. My knowledge of the BTP was mostly based on media coverage. However, for the first time, I had the opportunity to observe the party and the party members in a collective environment.
In Turkey, politics is generally seen as a means of gaining benefits. One of the main reasons for motivation is the hope that one day they will be on the winning side. For this reason, the biggest problem for parties with a low chance of coming to power in general or locally is to maintain motivation in the long run. On the other hand, I observed that this problem does not exist in the BTP and that the party members maintain their enthusiasm. This seems to be due to their satisfaction with the performance of the current chairman Hüseyin Baş.
High youth and women participation
It is noteworthy that the ability to organize well, which is seen in most of the parties with conservative roots, is also evident in BTP. Despite their limited means, party members made every effort to host the media and guests.
From the first moment you walk in, you realize that you are facing a predominantly conservative crowd. However, there were also many open-headed women and young girls. Veiled mothers came to the congress with their daughters, most of whom were veiled. There were also a considerable number of young participants.
Although there is a Black Sea predominance in the party base due to Baş's being from Trabzon, it is not possible to define the BTP as a Black Sea party only. There were also groups coming by bus from different provinces.
Conservative in appearance but Ataturkism and nationalism predominate in discourse
Although a conservative profile dominated the image, there was a strong emphasis on Atatürkism in the discourse. The love for Atatürk was clearly visible both in the slogans and in Baş's speech. As such, the answer to the question “Can Kemalism and conservatism go together?” is yes; they can. The BTP is an example of this synthesis. The BTP offers remarkable examples of how an Anatolian synthesis can be shaped away from radicalism and the shadow of political Islamism.
The love for Ehlibeyt, which was frequently emphasized in the speeches, seems to have resonated with the party base. Some young people wore Zülfikar necklaces, even though they were probably not of Alevi origin. On the other hand, the discourse was also dominated by references that would appeal to Turkish nationalists. Baş emphasized law in many parts of his speech. If you closed your eyes and just listened to the speech, you would have heard similar, if not more, of what could have been said at any CHP congress.
The fact that there was only one candidate in the party and traditions prevented a competition in the congress. Considering that even parties with millions of votes have serious problems in terms of intra-party competition, it is not very meaningful, at least for now, why there is no such situation in the BTP.
There is potential for growth, but on one condition
At the end of the day, I believe that BTP has made significant contributions to the culture of coexistence in Turkey. The consistency of its political line can further increase its popularity. As for its political future: It is possible for it to remain at its current level or make a great leap forward... Because the increasing youth population is gradually weakening traditional conservatism and traditional nationalism, and this trend will become even more pronounced in the future. The result is a large mass of young people who grow up in conservative family circles, but who also identify themselves as nationalists and respect Atatürk. Although the Zafer Party may attract some of the nationalist votes of this group, I think the real question is who will win over these young people in the long run.
If the BTP can move away from being a leader-centered party and build strong cadres known by the public, it can become one of the most fortunate parties of the future with the advantage of being a party that has not yet been worn out.