The AK Party suffered its first major defeat in 22 years in the local elections on 31 March, in which it had hoped to regain its previously lost strongholds and even add new ones.
Therefore, the shock of this was great. Some people started to comment that the AK Party had run out of time.
Why did he lose comments were also asked intensely, everyone started to list something.
Some of them were going to win, but even started to research what happened in the last week. Some of them immediately started to make comments based on the message that there will be radical changes and some ministers will leave. These are speeches like “Turkish nation has a fish memory, they will probably forget their problems after a few months”. They are like the managers who always put complaints under the rug.
However, in order to understand today’s results, it is necessary to look at and evaluate the last three elections. Because in the last three elections, the AK Party had started to experience serious vote losses. After each election, Mr President said, “The nation has given us a message to recover. Necessary measures will be taken”.
However, these promises were forgotten amidst busy and different agendas. Nothing changed except the ministerial changes. Finally, the bitter fate came to the door.
So what were the reasons that brought the AK Party to this state and led the nation to resentment? Let’s write the most important ones in short headings!
Reaching the younger generation!
First of all, everyone knew that the AK Party’s vote among the younger generation was decreasing. There was no contact with them.
Some AK Party mayors tried to remedy this with concerts such as Melek Mosso concerts. Valuing those who insulted those who voted for the AK Party made hearts bleed. It was ignored. While the people were reacting to him, those who made him do it were rewarded and he was nominated from a bigger place as if out of spite.
For days, the Mayor of Üsküdar organised jumping up and down sessions because we hosted hundreds of thousands of people. These images shared by the municipalities, which attracted the reaction of the nation, were damaging for the whole party. Because the impact power of social media was very different now. One mistake is enough to shake the whole party. In such cases, there is no longer the luxury of protecting the one who made a mistake.
As a result, the AK Party’s thesis on how to reach the youth could not be named. Unfortunately, the damage to the Ministries of National Education, Culture, Family and Sports, which were handed over to FETÖ-linked ministers for many years, could not be repaired.
The nation was not satisfied with the Minister of Culture and Tourism for a long time. Because he could not get his head out of tourism and engage in cultural activities. He thought he was consoling the nation with a few pieces of stone he bought from abroad. Finally, he ruined the giant step taken by our President on the Hagia Sophia Mosque despite the world, which made our nation rejoice. He turned a part of Hagia Sophia back into a museum in a completely different way in violation of Fatih’s foundation. He cast a great shadow on historical joy. AK Party friends working in the field in Kocaeli in the last election stated that this was the most common complaint they faced.
Law No. 6284!
The Istanbul Convention, which was adopted in 2011 and put into force in 2014, increased the number of victims like an avalanche before three years had passed. LGBTI associations were all over the country. The immoral images in the Pride marches had caused the nation to worry about where we were drifting to. These developments had an earthquake effect on the AK Party base. Unfortunately, a group of deputies in the AK Party were making the great struggle for the contract not to be cancelled as much as the outside world. Remember again the joy of the nation when Mr President finally tore up the contract.
On that day, Mr President promised that even the extension and troublesome articles of the contract would be changed. He even said that he had assigned his lawyers to this issue.
Can you tell us what has changed in Law No. 6284, which is the most important implementation of this law?
However, this law, which was based only on the declaration of the woman and opened the door to slander, was and still is making the nation groan. Families were shattered. Divorces had increased and marriages had decreased.
As I mentioned years ago, KADEM was playing the role of a breakwater in this period. Saliha Okur Gümrükçüoğlu, the President of KADEM, was developing projects that would kill the nation with new workshops, let alone hearing the cries of the nation!
In spite of the people, Özlem Zengin, one of the important names of the AK Party, and Derya Yanık, who was the family minister at the time, had challenged “Law No. 6284 is our red line”. When I warned her, Derya Yanık sent me 16 tweets in one night. I don’t remember her sending such a tweet to any CHP member. Özlem Zengin had previously refused me entry to the Tokat fair because I had criticised the Istanbul Convention… Unfortunately, they were on the same course with Pervin Buldan, İmamoğlu and Akşener, saying that the Istanbul Convention or 6284 would keep them alive.
So much so that even though these names were booed by the whole nation at the Istanbul rally of our President, unfortunately they were ignored. Resentment increased.
Livelihood issues
One of the most important reasons was the economy. As the pandemic period was coming to an end, the economic chaos that our country and even the world was dragged into finally reached a point where the nation was fed up. People started to increase rents, commodity and food prices according to their minds. The increases made by the state also came exponentially. Those who took advantage of the increases made to the employees, overwhelmed the people with successive increases. It has almost become impossible for people to buy the same product a second time without an increase.
Reactions could not be resolved. Fining “three-letter” markets was not a cure for the nation’s problems. The 25% rate introduced for rent increases further deepened the injustice. While those who previously rented their houses cheaply could not bring them to a normal point, the new ones started to rent them for five to ten times more. Everyone mobilised to evict their tenants.
The iron power and deterrent effect of the state should have been meticulously activated at this point. The people should not have been left at the mercy of some people.
On the other hand, the AK Party started to resort to populist policies for the first time in successive elections. Promises were made to get ahead of the opposition on the EYT issue and to realise their empty promises on the salary of civil servants. In the end, the heaviest bill of our already fragile economy fell on the retired people. This segment, which was the AK Party’s vote depot, was thoroughly offended.
Stray dogs
Recently, one of the biggest problems of the nation has been stray dogs. Almost every other day, images of a child, woman or man torn apart by stray dogs have appeared in the press or on social media.
While the nation was clamouring for a solution on this issue, some female deputies’ sharing dog-loving posts on “X” as if to say “you bite well, keep going” rubbed salt into the wounds. The perception that these people are making fun of us and treating us like fools has started to settle. The comments under the X’s posted by these deputies are enough to show their reputation in the eyes of the nation. So much so that they were unable to face the public in the elections. Most of them only greeted their organisations, had their photos taken and returned.
We should ask those MPs. Who made you make these posts while the nation is crying blood on these issues? Why are you committing harakiri in politics? Why are you openly and blatantly harming Mr President? Thus, it is absolutely necessary to find the instigators. Frankly, I do not think that some of them would do this without instigation.
Chaos in sport
In the recent period, sports was one of the most important applications that wore the AK Party down. Chaos was deliberately created in sports. So much so that the Super Cup, which should have been played in Arabia, reset our reputation on the world agenda. Unjust practices made football fans fed up. The President of the TFF, who did not take any steps in this regard and was even seen as the main cause of the events, continued to sit in his seat.
In the end, the Fenerbahçe-Trabzon match brought the clubs and even the staff of the same party against each other. Some politicians, who forgot the interests of their country, became cheerleaders for their team like fans who lost their minds. They caused great damage to their party.
Indefinite alimony and prison sentences for young marriages, which were never resolved despite repeated promises, were among the reasons that gradually wore down the AK Party over time.
Conclusion
As a result, the AK Party base was pushed to resentment. Nevertheless, the love of a large part of the mass for Reis prevented the mass dispersal to other parties. This time, the voters showed their reaction by not going to the polls to a significant extent. I think this situation is to give the AK Party one last opportunity.
Therefore, the outcome of the last election was not a victory for the CHP, but a final and severe warning to the party by the AK Party electorate.
If it is not properly evaluated and radical decisions are not taken this time, the AK Party may sink into darkness. It is still in the hands of the AK Party and especially Mr President to make peace with the nation.
Promises to solve the reasons listed above should not be forgotten. If these are not dealt with immediately, separation may take the place of resentment. ATTENTION!
REFLECTION
If the wound is inside, it can only be healed from the inside,
An insolent ointment from the outside cannot enter the heartache house
Nâbî
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şimşirgil
5th April 2024
Türkiye Gazetesi