The priorities of the AK Party and the problem of the opposition

The election was held on November 1. A new climate has begun.

The embracing manner and the humble attitude of the Prime Minister struck the right note with society. Those who said “if a coalition cannot be formed, Turkey cannot be governed” were frustrated.

From the November 1 election results, the portrait of a happier Turkey facing the future with confidence and peace emerged. At the moment of the AK Party's election victory, contrary to pride because of success, a thankful Prime Minister who said, “we are at the position of praise.” He said, “There are no losers of this election, but winners. The winners of this election are our 77 million people.”

Because of this humble and embracing manner, the people trusted Davutoğlu and brought him to majority power. Blustering even if they got 13 or 16 percent of the votes, Bahçeli and Demirtaş were punished at the ballot box.

The AK Party won the election but didn't become jubilant. Considering the constitutional calendar, immediately the efforts to form the government will start. With the meeting that will be held today, the “Government Program” and “Emergency Action Plan" will be started.

The efforts will be focused on two main areas:

1- Reforms

2- A strong economic package.

For these focal points, the “Election manifesto” will be taken as a basis.

Without losing time, the AK Party has launched, but the defeated opposition are not lifting their fingers.

Devlet Bahçeli, who has chaired the MHP (The Nationalist Movement Party) for 18 years, has lost 12 elections he ran in.

As long as Devlet Bahçeli could not take part in the coalition government with 80 deputies, Alparslan Türkeş, his predecessor, took two ministries in the National Front with three deputies and he became the deputy prime minister. Türkeş took two ministries with three deputies, whereas Bahçeli could not take part in the cabinet with 80 deputies.

The chair of the CHP (Republican People's Party), Kılıçdaroğlu, lost all of the 7 elections he ran during his tenure.

I will break my tooth if I can find a single election the opposition party leaders won.

In the November 1 elections, the AK Party did not win any seats in three cities. However, the CHP in 35 cities, and the MHP and HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) did not win a seat in 57 cities.

I searched the elections Demirel and Ecevit who left traces in Turkish politics for 30-40 years competed and the attitude of Türkeş toward coalition governments.

Demirel ran for six general elections and one by-election during his 28 years of active political life. Except during the coup periods, between November 28, 1964, he was elected as the chair of the Justice Party and April 17, 1993 he was elected as the President.

He won four elections and lost three.

He was Prime Minister for 10.5 years. I do not even count his seven-year-long presidency.

During his long political life, Demirel ran for four local elections and lost three of them. So within 28 years, he won five elections and took the second place in five. Even if he lost the 1973 and 1977 elections, he managed to become Prime Minister by forming the first and second National Front governments.

That is to say, even if you do not win an election, in forming the government one can become the Prime Minister. I wish Bahçeli could hear this.

As for Bülent Ecevit, except for the coup periods he ran for six general elections between May 14, 1972 he was elected as the chair of the CHP and July 14, 2004 he left active political life as the chair of the DSP (The Democratic Left Party). He won three elections and lost three. He became the Prime Minister five times by forming the coalition government with the MSP (The Nationalist Salvation Party), the Güneş Motel government, two minority governments and the MHP-ANAP-DSP government.

He managed to come out at the end of the 1977 elections with 41.38 percent of the vote, which even the leftist parties cannot collect today. During his 32 years of long political life, except the coup periods and the years he was banned from politics, Ecevit ran in five local elections and won three of them.

You can say there was not a leader like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a party like the AK Party and a Prime Minister like Ahmet Davutoğlu in front of Demirel and Ecevit. But it does not mean they are failures.

Weren't İsmet İnönü, Süleyman Demirel, Bülent Ecevit, Necmettin Erbakan, Alparslan Türkeş and Turgut Özal strong leaders?

Each of them was a name leading a political movement in their own areas and leaving traces in 40 years of Turkish politics. They lost elections, they won elections, they were overthrown in coups, and they came to power with elections. They were imprisoned, they formed governments, but they always had an argument.

One hundred and forty-five days passed between the June 7 elections and November 1. In other words, five months. Not five years. The opposition's performance in five months was such that the number of deputies of the MHP was reduced by half. If the HDP (People's Democratic Party) would try a little harder, it would fall under the threshold. However, they were the rising parties of the June 7 elections. Our people gave great credit to the MHP and HDP. What happened within these five months that they fell so far behind? With their negative manner since the June 7 elections, people realized that they are not capable of administrating the country. Our people gave the opposition the duty to administer the government with the coalition. The opposition could not interpret the message the voters gave. Our people had concerns that if Turkey were given into the hands of the CHP, MHP and HDP, it would be dragged into political instability and whirlpool of terror. As for the AK Party, it cared about the message sent by the voters. It said, “If a coalition is needed we will form it; if an elected government is needed we will form it as well.” It acted with an awareness of responsibility. The last five months have been a laboratory for Turkish politics. The opposition lost the race, whereas the AK Party, having corrected its mistakes, won the race.

I have been carefully watching what the opposition leaders would say and do after the crushing defeat they suffered in the November 1 elections. They blame the government as if the AK Party had a mission to carry the opposition to the rulership. They still could not come to their senses. The AK Party should hurry up and take out a policy for the opposition leaders.

Even the terror organization of this country is strange. Among the administrators of the outlawed PKK, Duran Kalkan accused the AK Party of having “come to power with terror.” As if they founded the PKK terror organization to continue a democratic struggle and took to the mountains…