The people have spoken. It proves to The Economist, The New York Times, L’Express and Le Point that Türkiye is not the other Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not “L'autre Poutine.”
In Turkish we say, “An example is better than a thousand precepts.” Now, I pray to be mistaken, but I believe I am not and soon events will prove me right. If they emerge victorious, this multiparty coalition appears poised to confront the United States and the European Union, only to later adopt the role of a fearful child wary of the flames.
Political science is not a true science, but it has a couple of law-like generalizations. One of them is that no governing party can survive an election when consumer price inflation is over 50%. Whether the Turkish economy has been manipulated by the Western conglomerates or not, the regular Joe had to pay half of his monthly income as rent to his voracious landlord. Maybe Joe couldn’t pay it and had to seek a smaller house in a distant neighborhood, but someone else could because the Erdoğan administrations for the last two decades created a wealthy middle class in the country.
Another law-like rule that political science teaches us is that there are no winners in elections, but losers. They win because you lose.
The multiparty coalition and the hotchpotch alliance U.S. President Joe Biden started building even before his own election victory couldn’t have gained even these many votes for the Presidency if the alliance behind Erdoğan had not been worn down by the concerted effort of the U.S. and EU. The sheer number of anti-Erdoğan and anti-Türkiye covers of weekly news magazines and the headlines of the major foreign newspapers testified to the fact that there was a prearranged campaign to topple the government.
Thrilling wait for second round
Still, they couldn’t do it. They could have toppled President Erdoğan, but the people did not allow this to happen. Erdoğan is still in the running to remain our president. Despite all the rhetorical election orations, Erdoğan's main rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, could not win in the first round.
To see who will lead us in our fight against terrorism, against economic, political and militaristic woes, we’ll have to wait two more weeks.
Yes, we have had a terrible experience with coalition governments but as a nation, we can learn from our mistakes. All the leaders of the six political parties, in the slim chance they happen to win in the second round, would hopefully act responsibly so that the country won’t have to regress to the era when the average lifespan of coalitions was only seven months.
You don’t count punches in a street fight and during election seasons. Many a rally promise is made to be forgotten. If Kılıçdaroğlu wins the run-off elections, I hope no legally convicted PKK terrorist organization or the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) terrorists is going to be released from penitentiaries. At least there is no “spoil system” in Turkish bureaucracy as in the U.S., so countless government employees are not going to be replaced.
Unlike Erdoğan's seasoned resume, if Kılıçdaroğlu wins the run-off elections, he would need an adaptation period and his Cabinet would need time to learn the new statecraft from which they have been away for almost two decades. The composition of the new Parliament will also very important factor in their schooling in the presidential system.
In short, we have to endure the beautiful chaos of the democratic process for two more weeks.
