There are two main factors that determine the strength of a political party. The first is the ideological foundations and the political strategies and tactics that are in line with them, and the other is the cadres with the political culture, ethics and social skills to implement them on the ground...
If we take these two factors into account and take a look at the recent developments, it doesn't take a political scientist to say that the main opposition party is in serious trouble on both issues. Let alone that, even an IQ of 90 is more than enough to realize this!...
However, the thing is that when you get into the details, it is not as easy to analyze this as one might think. I mean, if it weren't for the incompetent politicians seeking personal aggrandizement who have taken over the CHP, would Ataturk's party be in this state?“, if only the matter were that simple!
If it were just a matter of the top management, everything would be so easy, but it is not.
This time, let's make an observation not only from head to toe, but also from nail to toe. Since the first one has been done so much, I will start with the nail!
For example, from neighborhood organizations... Being a member of a party requires at least knowing the basic policies of that party, conducting political activities locally in line with the party's general policies, carrying out activities to make the candidate who will strengthen the organization the district chairman in the district administration elections, contributing and making constructive criticism if the district municipality is under the administration of that party, and friendship and solidarity among party members. Based on the conclusions I have drawn from my observations to date, I can say that if the rate of local political actors who are party members with these qualities were 10 percent, the CHP would have already been in power in a coalition after the general elections not today, not the previous one, but the one before that.
Maybe they are all 10 percent, but they can poison the party
Now let me try to list the political activities and behavioral characteristics of the party members in the neighborhoods in the district organizations. I will start with the worst ones, which are unfortunately more than 10 percent of the total! The level of friendship and solidarity within the party, if the municipality administration is in the party, is at the level of placing someone in a job or bagging for someone else in crony-sergeant and fellow-citizen relations. In pursuit of this goal, they may resort to all kinds of gossip and mudslinging to eliminate other party members. There is no limit to this mud!...
Of course, sucking up to the mayor is their most important political activity. Things can get a bit uglier in the women's branches. Personal hatred, let alone solidarity, can reach astonishing levels. Learned ignorance and all kinds of shenanigans can be found in the youth branches. From getting a job in the municipality to dreaming of becoming the head of the party, you are confronted with ‘grown-ups’ who aspire to be a member of the party council, usually one of the worst. I suggest you watch one of these people, who made it to the municipal council under the wing of a party elder or a ‘heavy brother' in an active neighborhood association, at a council meeting. You will understand what I mean much more clearly. You have never listened to so much memorization and gossip together! Unless you are addicted to nonsensical discussion programs on partisan or some opposition channels.
So what good is a quota?
For this reason, neither the quota for women nor the tales of rejuvenating the party will do any good, they will just remain as the garish packaging of maintaining the existing order! The number of ‘macho ladies’ in red jackets and black skirts and ‘civil servant-like youth' in dark suits, badly combined ties and shoes will increase a little, that's all!.
If you are a ‘pure patriot’ who strives to change this order, who attempts to make constructive criticism, who talks about political culture and morality, I say beware! If you are talking the talk, before you know it, there are people gathered around you who support you. They seem to support everything you say. Always wait a while and observe. Never take what they tell you seriously without verifying it several times. Because some of them are definitely ‘resentful'...
In politics, ‘disgruntled’ means without ideology, ignorant of political ethics, either seeking personal gain or just plain egomaniacal! You are dealing with the most dangerous breed. They pretend to be supportive of your criticism, and then they turn it up a notch, targeting individuals and hitting below the belt. In the meantime, from the mayor who took the criticism on himself, almost everyone who supports the district administration has also targeted you. Some of the ‘disgruntled’ crowd that supported you jumped on the promises of those they considered enemies with small calculations. You have become an enemy of the party, a spy, an AK Party supporter, a ‘he-said, she-said’, and you don't even know it... Another one has become the mayor's biggest supporter, and most probably a relative of his who has no talent or merit got a job in the municipality! That person is now making all kinds of insults against you.
‘Those who tell ’revolutionary' tales!
And then there are the worst of the worst. These are the ‘revolutionaries’ of the party... If you ask any of them, their family hid Deniz Gezmiş in their house! If you ask any of them, everyone is a ‘renegade’ except themselves... These are the types who should definitely be avoided and disgraced in every environment. This type of party member who exaggerates their past and runs away at the first sign of difficulty, if not themselves, then surely their relatives or villagers have a job in the municipality. Whichever party boss they were kissing the hand of yesterday, today they are competing to give the last kick to that lousy boss when it doesn't work out for them. If you hear sentences starting with “We worked so hard for the party, but...”, put it back in their mouths. What they mean is very clear; “We were trashed, but we were not full enough”, that's all!... It is a patriotic duty to discredit them everywhere and in every way.
There must be patriots with the will to cut off the gangrenous organ
The group I am talking about may be 10 percent, but the number of well-intentioned people who are influenced by them cannot be underestimated. Both the scoundrel and the corner-catcher are actually ‘political figures’ who act with the same motive, who care neither for the party nor for the future of this country. It is because of them that those who really care about this country give up on becoming a member of the party and joining the struggle, believing that ‘politics is dirty’. This is where the vicious circle stems from.
What I am saying is that the problem is not only in the top management of the party, but actually stems from a rot from top to bottom. Isn't it true that those who come with the story of ‘change’ are the characters of the same bad tale... Hasn't it been the same story for decades?
So what to do then?.
Here is a suggestion for you; can't we get together, get organized and become party members? Can't we take it upon ourselves to cut off these gangrenous limbs in a planned and programmed way? Can't we fight against this rot in an organized way? Now that there is a ‘primary election’, everyone can become a member. Afterwards, it will be a tough fight, very tough in fact, but if it is successful to some extent, another CHP is possible! If another CHP is possible, another Turkey is also possible!... Remember, even winning that struggle is not enough, one must always be on guard. Those who destroy even the hope that flourished with the SHP can always infiltrate from anywhere!
We engage in an internal, lateral, external and long-lasting struggle without losing heart. Or we can look at people like Ali Mahir Başarır on the one hand and people like Erhan Çakır and İmam Bakır Üküş on the other and lament the state of both the founding party and the country!