Three days ago, a single image of a few seconds in the corridor of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey became the subject of hours of political conversation.
In politics, sometimes a single image can reveal deeper political truths than hours of explanations.
The fact that Gökhan Günaydın was not included in the secret and private meeting between CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and Bülent Arınç is a case in point. Political public opinion has begun to intensely discuss not only what was discussed in this meeting, but also why Günaydın was excluded and the political realities behind it.
In this article, I aim to evaluate why Gökhan Günaydın was not included in the meeting and what this means for the political balance within the CHP.
CHP Group Chairman and Istanbul MP Gökhan Günaydın made a statement on a television program regarding the allegations that during the meeting between Özgür Özel and Bülent Arınç, he was removed from the room or, more politely, told “Gökhan, wait outside, we will have a private meeting” and made to wait at the door.
Günaydın said in his statement:
“No one has ever removed me from any meeting and no one can remove me. I enter the meeting I need to enter. We welcomed Mr. President and took him to Bülent Bey's room. While they were having a meeting inside, we chatted with our friends. Claims such as ‘he was not admitted’ or ‘he was removed’ are not true.”
However, to be frank, there is serious talk in CHP circles that this statement does not reflect the truth.
In fact, let alone being removed from the room, according to the allegations, Good Morning was not even allowed into the room; he was not even given the opportunity to enter the meeting. This is already clear from the camera footage
The most striking point here is this:
Gökhan Günaydın is no ordinary party executive. He is the CHP's Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Group. This is an extremely critical position in terms of party hierarchy and parliamentary work. Even from the point of view of the TBMM's Rules of Procedure, the group chairmanship is an office with serious administrative and political weight.
However, if such an important figure is not even admitted to a meeting between the CHP chairman and Bülent Arınç, one of the founding figures of the AKP, the question naturally arises:
This meeting took place in a hall belonging to the AK Party under the roof of the Parliament. Therefore, this meeting cannot be considered as a private meeting between two fellow politicians. Although this meeting was held within the scope of the institutional representation of the parties, why was Gökhan Günaydın not included in the meeting?
This raises the question, “Is Gökhan Günaydın not trusted?”.
Especially judging by the allegations within the party, there are comments that it is not wanted to transfer what was said in this meeting between the two compatriots to Ekrem İmamoğlu.
In such a meeting, which took place in front of the public and at an extremely sensitive time for the CHP, one inevitably asks the following question:
What was discussed in this meeting?
It seems that Bülent Arınç has assumed a kind of bridge role. It does not seem realistic to claim otherwise. There is a contact, there is a search and there is obviously a political traffic going on behind closed doors.
But this meeting also raises questions about the nature of politics:
Is there a negotiation going on during these talks?
Was Bülent Arınç the only AK Party member present at this meeting? Was there any other AK Party member present?
Is someone being politically expended?
Or are some people protected and others discarded?
Looking at Gökhan Günaydın's position in this meeting, the public perception of the party is as follows:
It is as if a name has been deliberately kept away from what is happening at the table.
Although Günaydın tried to “keep his tail up” in his TV program, his words are remarkable:
“No one can take me out of any meeting. I go to the meeting I have to go to.”
So the questions to be asked are simple:
Shouldn't you be in this meeting?
If you didn't have to enter, what are the reasons?
Were you told in advance that the meeting would be private?
If told, did you ask why?
Did you find out afterwards what was discussed at the meeting?
As long as none of these questions can be answered satisfactorily, the picture that emerges is this:
A politician who is the CHP Group Chairman was excluded from a critical meeting of his own party.
According to the rumors, it is claimed that Günaydın was seriously upset by this situation and reproached his close circle.
After all, the truth is this:
In politics, it does not work by saying “I can enter any meeting I want, no one can exclude me”.
There is a fact that everyone in the CHP knows today:
That is the political weight of Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Everyone knows that if İmamoğlu, who is in Silivri, were to give an instruction tomorrow, many in the party would carry it out without question. Therefore, it is clear that there is a serious difference between the public image and the real balance of power within the party.
The saddest part is this:
Today, the CHP has reached such a point that it is unable to conduct even a simple political meeting in a transparent and institutionalized framework. Even an ordinary contact with an AKP politician turns into a closed meeting that is kept secret within the party, with some executives left outside the door.
This is not the image of a strong political organization, but of a structure that is insecure within itself and does not know how to govern.
The fact that even a political contact that is supposed to be transparent is so controversial shows how weak the CHP leadership's capacity to produce institutional politics has become.
In the end, there is one fact that remains unchanged even if it is denied: The CHP today seems unable to manage even a simple political meeting in an institutionalized and transparent manner. A meeting in which even the group leader of a party is excluded inevitably reveals the balance of power within the party and the problem of trust. This is not just a discussion about a meeting; it is also a clear indication of how the CHP is being governed today.
And one inevitably asks the question:
Does the Republican People's Party organization deserve this?