It is not just the leader that wins an election for a political movement. Nor is it just the organization. Nor is it just the economy or the agenda. What wins the election is the consistency between the promises made to voters and the party’s internal conduct.
The main challenge facing the CHP today is to rebuild its own narrative before defeating its rivals.
This is precisely where Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s most overlooked political trait lies. His political approach was based on achieving results through patience rather than shouting, and by bringing people together rather than polarizing them. It was no coincidence that he was able to bring political traditions that had not spoken to one another for years in Turkey to the same table. The most tangible result of this approach was the ability of different segments of society to come together around a common goal. The success of the broad social consensus established, particularly in local elections, can be seen as one of the key examples of this. (Wikipedia)
However, what is needed today is not to recount the past, but to build the future.
If the CHP is to get back on its feet, it must first make its own members feel that:
“This party is not a stepping stone for anyone’s career; it is a shared trust.”
Because voters don’t follow teams that are at odds with one another. Voters follow teams that inspire confidence.
People aren’t interested in listening to lengthy ideological debates anymore. They go to the grocery store, look at their bills, and think about their children’s future. That’s why the CHP’s rhetoric has to change, too.
No more slogans.
More solutions.
No more anger.
More confidence.
No more criticism of the competition.
More visions of the future.
Whatever a mother is talking about in the kitchen, the CHP should be talking about it.
Whatever a retiree is talking about at a coffee shop, the CHP should be talking about it too.
The CHP should understand exactly how a young person feels when they leave a job interview.
Politics is no longer about telling voters what you think; it’s about understanding what they’re going through.
Initiatives like Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s “justice march,” which bring together different segments of society around a shared value, have demonstrated that politics can generate not only electoral success but also moral legitimacy. (Wikipedia)
The motto for the new era should be:
Justice within the party first.
Then justice for society.
First, unity within the party.
Then, unity in society.
Because no political movement that cannot unite within itself can bring millions of people together.
The day the CHP wins will be the day when people can walk out shoulder to shoulder through the same door, even from a hall where the fiercest debates have taken place.
People aren't looking for a perfect leader.
People are looking for a political will that won’t abandon them.
Hope is not always born in large squares; it is born in the moment when a citizen says, “They understand me.”.
And this is the greatest asset of politics:
Trust.
If there is trust, the organization will get back on its feet.
If the organization stands up, society will take action.
When the public takes action, election results become nothing more than a formality.