Shaking hands with the New Turkey


Turkey has contended with various tutelary forms over the last 13 years. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has shown the willpower to maintain this struggle since it is not an ordinary political party. It would have probably come to terms with the status quo or not have displayed the wisdom to transcend it if it were an ordinary party.One of the most outstanding peculiarities of the AK Party is that it is able to implement the fundamental rules of politics for the first time. The AK Party is a movement that has its roots in the people and their needs. In other words, its presence depends on the real sociological roots and their demands. Leaders such as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu are figures very familiar with the old Turkey and thus, they resolved all the tutelary codes. They can foresee the kind of consequences each move could bring. Therefore, they take measures before the risk appears.Several crucial factors come side by side at this point. The first one is politics based on people. The second is the ability to display wisdom and vision. The third is to create the ability to implement decisions and the fourth is showing courage in the face of obstacles and not stepping back. The fifth is to rightly assess the conjuncture, which means constantly retaining ethical superiority. This requires embracing the demands of change.The year 2007 was a turning point. Reforms similar to what the AK Party made until 2007 were previously conducted by former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who was executed by a military junta after the 1960 coup, and former President Turgut Özal, who adopted people-centric politics following the 1980 coup. However, they could not progress any further and were dissolved. Both men were unable to complete all the five factors mentioned above. Conjuncture was negative for Menderes while Özal was a lonely leader without an organization.When the army issued a memorandum to Erdoğan and the judicial body attempted to hinder the presidential elections in 2007, Erdoğan did not step back and rose to the challenge. For the first time in Republican history, a democratically elected government could stand against and defeat bureaucratic tutelage. The party has continued to remain as a political movement that has increased its votes in every election with the same tactic ever since then.The reforms of this movement cleared the country from various forms of tutelage. Lastly, we witnessed the uprising of a group affiliated with the Gülen Movement that attempted to penetrate state organizations. Erdoğan also challenged this dominant group, rejected sharing state institutions with this illegal organization and eventually defeated it. He achieved the impossible by deciphering a tutelary system that was preparing to rule the country for 40 years.The upcoming general elections are to be held on June 7. An alliance of old Turkey, which includes various left-wing and right-wing groups, the "parallel structure," terrorist organizations, a nationalist party, and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), is fighting against the AK Party. Their only aim is to block an undefeated civil movement to prevent the formation of a new constitution and revive the bureaucratic tutelage. Opposition parties even make promises of immortality in their election manifestos. While the HDP is using the weapons of the PKK as an election guarantee in the east and southeast, it is playing the role of a party in a democratic fight against the so-called dictator in the western regions.We are going through a quite interesting electoral period. The parties and structures that normally hate each other have made an alliance. The "parallel structure," which jailed about 8,000 PKK and HDP members only a few years ago, is now trying to increase the HDP vote.They assume that they can convince public, which would not realize this plot. However, the AK Party represents the overall common sense of this country. The AK Party has gradually become a central party that involves all different liabilities in itself since people do not want to turn back to the old Turkey. And they are well aware of the fact that this could be only permanent thanks to the AK Party.The June 7 general elections will open a new phase where we can exceed the threshold of a new Turkey and the people's power will be institutionalized rather than various forms of tutelage. The public is cognizant of this fact, and they are unlikely to trade this opportunity for independence, which came after 150 years, to any other plot.Evidently, attempts at social engineering will fail again. When this happens, the process of founding a new Turkey will be achieved, all the anomalies will evaporate like foam and a normalization process can finally start. The world will have to shake hands with a new Turkey.