Main opposition behaves like political IV for AKP: Bahçeli
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Devlet Bahçeli says the main opposition party replies to PM’s every comment. AA photo
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has slammed the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for acting like the “political IV” of the ruling party by joining the debate over raising devout generations.“The CHP is replying to every speech of Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] without thinking twice. Being the opposition does not mean replying to every word of the prime minister. But the CHP becomes a kind of political IV for the AKP [Justice and Development Party]. The ruling party gets an artificial respirator for itself whenever it faces trouble. Such an opportunity should not be provided,” Bahçeli told a group of reporters.
But Bahçeli joined the debate over Erdoğan’s remarks, in which the prime minister said raising devout generations was part of his party’s mission.
The MHP leader described the debate “as an AKP effort to open a conservatism-based life space to itself while its popular support is diminishing.”
In response to Bahçeli’s comments, CHP deputy group chairwoman Emine Ülker Tarhan said the AKP did not benefit from the debate over raising devout generations, but was rather damaged by it.
“I respect Mr. Bahçeli’s opinions, but it would be unacceptable for us not to intervene in this debate. This debate did not strengthen but harmed the AKP, I think,” Tarhan told the Hürriyet Daily News.
