Questions the voter will ask sooner or later

The most important thing for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan now is not to give up the government, no matter what. Because it has become obvious the day he steps down from the government, there is one thing waiting for him: First the Supreme Court, and after that directly to Silivri.  
This time, of course, will be nothing like the jail time he previously served. During that jail sentence, he was a “political prisoner;” this time, he will be sentenced because of “petty crime.” 

The thing we have known up until this day was that Erdoğan’s personal charisma was carrying his party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP). But, now, his charisma has been ruined to such an extent that after some time, we will not be talking about who is carrying who but how Erdoğan is pulling the AKP down into the depths with himself.

It may be possible that the scandals that have erupted will not cause consequences over a short time, but it is not possible for such a politician to fool everybody for a long time. He will indeed manage until the next elections with the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Law, and with the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) reporting to him. He will rule with an even narrower authoritarian regime so that he would prevent the mention of all these corruption claims. 

If this country did not have some kind of a democratic tradition, more or less, he would have accomplished that. But, it is very unfortunate for Erdoğan that this place is not, for instance, Uzbekistan. This corruption sooner or later will also face him in the ballot box.

Because, the voter is not naïve; the voter will say, “My son who is just back from his military service and even though he is a university graduate, he is still unemployed, whereas his son with no notable skills is playing with millions of dollars.”

 My daughter, who had to take off her headscarf to go to school or who had to wear a wig, is still waiting for an assignment, whereas his daughter with no notable skills is having a hard time selecting villas. 

I have been a civil servant for so many years; when I retired, I hardly bought a house. I have difficulty making ends meet, whereas money is erupting from their houses.

We can give many more examples, but we will see that these, sooner or later, will be questioned by the people.

Which tape is more shameful?

The aim of posting Deniz Baykal’s private images with a female deputy on the Internet was to create trouble for the CHP in the next elections. They were expecting Baykal to remain the CHP leader and they would have the opportunity to use this against him. 

Baykal did not give them this opportunity. The same thing happened to some MHP executives also. They all resigned and did not fall into the government’s trap, which was acting in coordination at that time with the gang that planned all of this.

Now, everywhere is filled with the prime minister’s tapes. He is negotiating millions of dollars with his son. He has nearly 100 million euros in his house. When he was first elected, he was living in a building that did not have proper permits. There are clues of the source of his richness in the phone conversations.

Which cassettes are more shameful; Baykal’s and the MHP executives’ or the prime minister’s?

Mehmet Y. Yılmaz is a columnist for daily Hürriyet in which this piece was published on March 4. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.