What does CHP want to do?

As Türkiye’s political parties and leaders analyze the municipal election results, it remains unclear what Turkish politics will look like in this new period. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid due respect to the people’s choice on election night, making an inclusive statement that encouraged the opposition to speak responsibly.

Accordingly, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Özgür Özel and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu seem to be competing against each other as they attempt to strike a careful note about the Turkish president.

In an interview with the Sabah newspaper, the former said he would call Erdoğan on the occasion of Ramadan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fitr, and even promised that “we will represent the strongest form of opposition without giving up on courtesy and due respect to the office.” Özel also highlighted the necessity of “working together and consultations” to announce that he was going to request an appointment with Erdoğan and meet him “wherever he would offer me an appointment.”

Officially certified as the winner of Istanbul’s mayoral race, Imamoğlu had also requested an audience with the Turkish leader by saying that he was “ready to speak.”

Since both the CHP chairperson and Istanbul’s mayor became more powerful as a result of the March 31 elections, the lack of competition among them over shaping party politics may be considered a conscious choice. Judging by CHP-affiliated mayors entering their offices by attending morning prayers and with prayers and blessings, the party’s new political position and discourse appear to reflect a common policy and mindset.

Another case in point was Dilek Imamoğlu, the spouse of Istanbul’s mayor, saying in an interview that she would like to launch joint projects with first lady Emine Erdoğan: “Our unity would be good for Türkiye.”

A change?

Having realized that anti-Erdoğanism does not pay off, the Republicans are trying to signal to the general population that they are “ready to come to power” in 2028. Before engaging in fierce opposition on an economic basis, they want to show the electorate that they bear the “responsibility of government on the local level.” Obviously, another reason is to make the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) base perceive CHP being in charge of municipalities as normal.

In this regard, it seems that the movement will adopt a two-pronged approach. They will portray the economy as the new “threat to national survival” and offer to “work together” with the government to address pressing problems. If granted an audience and the government agrees to work together, CHP will seek to limit the government’s “territory” with a moderate discourse by mounting pressure on the bureaucracy and challenging the view that “the opposition cannot govern.”

If rejected, the party could accuse the government of refusing to cooperate for the nation’s sake and use stronger language to demand early elections.

CHP’s new chairperson intends to stick to his predecessor’s policies of “reaching out to the right” and “making amends.” Senior party officials have already pledged to respect everyone’s “faith, identity and lifestyle” in an attempt to undermine the AK Party’s “identity” bond with its base.

Currently downplaying his leftist credentials, Özgür Özel (just like Imamoğlu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş) objected to the controversial headscarf ban of the past in an attempt to connect with nationalists and conservatives: “CHP members should have grabbed those, who issued the order not to allow people with headscarves enter military facilities, by their throats.”

Insisting that CHP can come to power by “abandoning past illnesses,” Özel also refuses to let the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, who originated in the political right, to shape the movement’s discourse in an attempt to consolidate his own leadership. At the same time, he reminds everyone that he remains the “coach” with the ability to nominate Imamoglu or Yavaş for president in 2028.

Meanwhile, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who argues that his “making amends” policy resulted in CHP’s success, keeps saying he has not retired from politics. He also believes that his “table for six” alliance and “making amends” policy led the movement to success on March 31.

The road map of the Green Left Party (YSP), informally known as the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), too, will influence CHP’s future brand of politics.

Yet, it will be President Erdoğan and the AK Party’s post-analysis politics that will set the tone for the next four years.

[Daily Sabah, April 14, 2024]