Open letter to Devlet Bahçeli
Dear Devlet Bahçeli,
You have said that if you had agreed to the Greater Middle East Project, if you had not voiced any concern to the global blockade, you would have been made a king now.
You also said if you had shut your eyes to corruption and winked at treason, you would have been praised. You said if you had supported disintegration, you would have been the winner.
Dear Bahçeli,
Please do not change the subject. Nobody is criticizing you because you said “no” to the Greater Middle East Project. Nobody is condemning you because you raised your voice against the global blockade. Nobody is criticizing your stance against corruption. Nobody is asking you why you did not tolerate treason.
What people are asking you is how come a political party leader, without changing any party discourse, is able to decrease their votes 4 points in 146 days.
They are asking how a political party leader, after making his party experience a fiasco of this extent in 146 days, cannot take responsibility and do what is necessary.
How come a political party leader never made the slightest self-critique after bringing his party close to the election threshold in 146 days entirely due to personal tactics and strategies, they are asking.
The rule is simple in democracies, esteemed Bahçeli: Those who cannot succeed go, those who succeed stay.
If you think of your party, your cause, your principles, you should immediately leave your position to a name who says, “I can do this job better.”
As a matter of fact, there are many names in your party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who could do this job. It could be Sinan Oğan, it could be Meral Akşener, it could be Ümit Özdağ or it could be Mansur Yavaş…
Leave your party to one of these names, let go…
You will see that these names will also say “no” to the Greater Middle East Project, just as strongly as you do. They will oppose the global blockade. They will reject corruption just as much as you did. They will focus on disintegration as much as you did.
But there will be a difference. They will rush from one place to the other. Your problem was not working. They will be more convincing than you are. Your issue was that you were far from convincing. They will be more inclusive than you are. They will be more energetic than you are.
They will be more coherent than you are. Your problem was that you made everybody say, “I have not been able to understand what Devlet Bahçeli wants to do.”
They will have more strategy than you have. Your problem was to crash and burn your party with the strategy you used all alone by yourself.
Now, you can say to me, “Who are you, meddling in the affairs of our party? What is it to you if we get fewer votes or more votes? We can be the ruling party or the opposition. Why does this concern you?” Of course you have the freedom to say that to me.
In this case, you can imagine that I have the freedom to say, “Do whatever you wish, sir.”
Would the CHP become introverted?
They are telling the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to “turn inside,” meaning become introverted and embrace its very basic, classic values.
You know what? If the CHP does that, then it will lose the 25 percent it has and remain under the threshold. What the CHP needs is not reclusiveness… It needs a brand new, magical Turkey story. A young and dynamic leader; a new administrative staff with organizational abilities and courage to challenge the hegemons of the world and Turkey...
