Standoff with PM gives jurist Feyzioğlu head start for opposition leadership

On Saturday, an otherwise uneventful and admittedly uninteresting official ceremony at the Council of State (Danıştay) headquarters unexpectedly made headlines when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan walked out of the building following an address with political overtones by jurist Metin Feyzioğlu, a former CHP executive who currently presides over the Turkish Bar Association (TBB). The confrontation took place just two weeks after the prime minister had to endure a prolonged lecture on judicial autonomy and the separation of powers from Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç during a similar function at the country's top court. It was inappropriate for Feyzioğlu to hijack the commemorative event for political gain, Erdoğan argued.

Meanwhile, the Twittersphere was split between advocates and critics of the jurist as a map of tweets under rival hashtags closely resembled the country's electoral map, with the Western coast praising the newfound Republican hero and the balance shifted toward the prime minister anywhere east of Ankara. Looking at the big picture, however, it is safe to say that the standoff gave Feyzioğlu a head start for the opposition leadership, which might be up for grabs as CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will seek to secure a third consecutive term against the backdrop of an increasingly probable defeat in the August 2014 presidential race. According to a recent poll by ORC, one of the few pollsters in the business to accurately predict the local election results, 52 percent of all voters would support Erdoğan's presidential bid should he decide to participate in the race.

Many of the study's findings, including a three-point drop in the CHP's popular support since the most recent election defeat, indicate that the party might have to endure a bumpy ride over the next months. Considering that a significant chunk of Republicans are troubled by the CHP leadership's perceived (albeit repeatedly rejected) rapprochement with the Gülen Movement as well as the sense that their party is moving away from core principles including secularism and Turkish nationalism for political gain. Given the circumstances, Metin Feyzioğlu could be the man to lead the charge against the CHP's reformist leadership which failed to deliver on its core promise of election success since its rise to power four years ago. The Republicans, whose party failed to improve its track record despite notable ideological concessions as part of an aggressive outreach campaign, could indeed rally behind Feyzioğlu, the latest representative of a Republican dynasty dating back to his grandfather who went as high as deputy prime minister in the Turkish Republic's early decades. Earlier this year, Feyzioğlu scored some additional points by appealing to President Abdullah Gül and Erdoğan for the release of Ret. Gen. İlker Başbuğ, an Ergenekon defendant whose prison sentence is pending approval from the Supreme Court of Appeals. The day Başbuğ, the top choice of opposition voters for president according to a recent poll, was released from prison earlier this year, Feyzioğlu proudly stood by his side during the press conference.

Whether Feyzioğlu will run for main opposition leader remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that his outstanding performance over the past six months has put him on the list of people to watch in Turkish politics.