There is the reality of “24 hours” in politics; sometimes one day, sometimes two...
But the developments of the last 48 hours were enough to completely dominate the agenda.
The reshuffles in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior were of course important. The appointment to the Interior Ministry was also influential, but the real game changer was the “change” in the Justice Ministry.
“Those who dragged the CHP into pollution with the rhetoric of ”change" did not like this change for some reason. Instead of expressing their discontent with words, they preferred to express it with fists on some pretext.
So what was the point?
The new Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, was the Chief Public Prosecutor of Istanbul before taking office as minister. “Ekrem Imamoglu is a criminal organization for profit” who filled out the dossier referred to as the "dossier.
He was the one who paved the way for Mr. Ekrem to be tried for up to 2350 years; he was the one who identified many crimes, not just one, and prepared the indictment with folders full of evidence.
While these files made it almost impossible for Mr. Ekrem to get out of jail, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel said the following at a rally in Gaziosmanpaşa on June 5, 2025
“I'll rub your nose on the ground like this, like this.
Akin, you hit a hard rock, son, you hit a hard rock...
Make up your mind!
I'll never see that bastard again!”
Whether Özgür Özel actually said these words or someone in Silivri made him say them is a matter of debate.
As the file expanded, Özgür Özel turned to his MPs and said the following sentence:
“If I go in and do 30 years, you do 30 years with me.”
So it's a clear “all of us or none of us” Warning.
Looking at the picture today, it is clear that it was not Akın Gürlek who hit the hard rock, but Özgür Özel who hit the rock with an axe.
Akın Gürlek was not snubbed; on the contrary, he became Minister of Justice.
If you can get out of it, Mr. Ozgur...
Özgür Özel does not only have the events of the 38th shady congress in front of him.
IBB and Mr. Ekrem, in particular, must account for what is going on in the municipalities.
What was given and received in tenders, bribery allegations, bank receipts, title deed records, SSI entries, the hiring of relatives of those who were included in Mr. Ekrem's “pool”, video and audio recordings; the table extending from those who ate baklava to the 70-80 apartments allegedly distributed through KİPTAŞ...
The issue of the confessors is now a settled matter.
At this point, Özgür Bey cannot rub anyone's nose in the ground.
On the contrary, it seems almost impossible to get out of these plastered files. Moreover, it is clear that it will only get worse.
It should be underlined:
Akin Gurlek is not the reason why it has come to this.
If there is a debate on “absolute nullity” in the coming days, it will not be because of Akın Gürlek.
One inevitably asks the question:
“Did Özgür Özel say ‘take this’ and it was taken?”
It does not seem possible to dismiss all these events as a “political case”. If there had been a CHP member in the Justice Ministry, would he have waited for the constitution to be ignored?
There was also a change in the Minister of Interior.
In other words, two of the most critical ministries of the state changed hands unexpectedly on the same day. Yet these two ministries are the institutions that should work in harmony with each other.
This situation inevitably raises the following question:
Is this the second stage of the purification process?
If the “purification” of the CHP's municipalities through IBB and Mr. Ekrem has been completed, is the internal purification of the CHP next?
This is because these folders are rumored to contain the names not only of mayors but also of CHP deputies.
In order to do this, these ministries had to be “consolidated” first. It appears that this step has been taken.
Let's take a calmer look at the fight in Parliament.
The fact that those who took the floor to take the oath were physically attacked instead of using legal means is an attempt by CHP deputies to send a message to their base that “we are fighting”. Even though they knew that they could not overcome the result, they tried to consolidate the base with the image of “we are fighting hand to hand”.
AKP MPs, on the other hand, beat up any CHP MP who came in front of them.
Names like Mahmut Tanal, who likes to stand out in every fight, have also made their own PR in this process.
What I regret is not that these names were beaten up; it is that it is a black stain on the history of the CHP.
History, “AKP deputies beat up CHP deputies” he will write.
And once again it will be the CHP that will be tarnished.
As a final word, the following should be said:
Mr. Özgür, you didn't let anyone's nose touch the ground.
But the days of rubbing your own nose in it seem to be near.
You know that you have hit a hard rock, you know that you have hit a stone with an axe.
It cannot be denied that Akın Gürlek's hand is now much stronger.
I see these appointments as a harbinger of nightmarish days to come for the CHP.