One of the most striking features of Turkish politics is our tendency to mythologize leaders rather than produce them. A political figure emerges, their achievements are exaggerated, their shortcomings are overlooked, and in a short time, they are transformed into a figure far greater than an ordinary politician. Then, that same society tears him down just as quickly.<\/p>\n
Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s story unfolded in much the same way.<\/p>\n
He served as mayor in one of Istanbul\u2019s relatively new districts. The district did not have major infrastructure problems; its roads, parks, and basic services were largely in place. The project that stands out most from his time as mayor is a park that was marketed under the brand name \u201cValley of Life.\u201d Subsequently, thanks to media support, political strategies, and the circumstances of the time, his name became a fixture in Istanbul politics.<\/p>\n
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral election, however, was the result not only of the candidates but also of the political climate of the time. In the atmosphere of that time, a segment of the electorate that was dissatisfied with the ruling party was seeking change. Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu was chosen as the symbol of this quest for change.<\/p>\n
The real problem began after the election victory.<\/p>\n
In Turkey, a healthy mechanism for criticism often fails to develop around politicians who are considered successful. On the contrary, critics are marginalized, those who question the status quo are silenced, and the leader gradually drifts away from reality. After a while, the person begins to believe the narrative presented to them. The small inner circle around them constantly reinforces this narrative.<\/p>\n
The result is a political figure whom one segment of society views as a savior, but from whom another segment is increasingly distancing itself.<\/p>\n
What happened today is not just the political story of one person. It is also a reflection of the way politics is conducted in Turkey. Because we talk about individuals, not institutions. We debate leaders, not platforms. We defend names, not principles.<\/p>\n
Yet democracies are not built on saviors. The rise or fall of a single person should not determine a country\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Whatever the law requires regarding Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019s freedom must be enforced. No matter who the person is, the right to a fair trial is indisputable. However, we must also acknowledge this reality: In Turkey, there is more than one alternative to Erdo\u011fan. This country has produced new leaders in the past, and it will continue to do so in the future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s time we stopped looking for a savior and learned to build strong institutions. Because people come and go, but institutions endure.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
T\u00fcrk siyasetinin en dikkat \u00e7ekici \u00f6zelliklerinden biri, lider \u00fcretmekten \u00e7ok liderleri efsanele\u015ftirmeye olan merak\u0131m\u0131zd\u0131r. Bir siyasi fig\u00fcr ortaya \u00e7\u0131kar, ba\u015far\u0131lar\u0131 abart\u0131l\u0131r, eksikleri g\u00f6rmezden gelinir ve k\u0131sa s\u00fcrede s\u0131radan bir siyaset\u00e7iden \u00e7ok daha b\u00fcy\u00fck bir karaktere d\u00f6n\u00fc\u015ft\u00fcr\u00fcl\u00fcr. Sonra ayn\u0131 toplum, ayn\u0131 h\u0131zla onu yerden yere vurur. Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu\u2019nun hik\u00e2yesi de biraz b\u00f6yle ilerledi. \u0130stanbul\u2019un yeni say\u0131labilecek […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":286790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286,2,285],"tags":[15,291],"class_list":["post-286789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-yazarlar","category-gundem","category-politika","tag-chp","tag-ekrem-imamoglu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":286791,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286789\/revisions\/286791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}