The new leader of the CHP, Özgür Özel, finally received a “passing grade” from President Erdoğan and broke the devil’s leg. As of yesterday, in the eyes of the Erdoğan-Ergenekon alliance, “Özgür Efendi” has been promoted to “Mr. Özel.”
Before explaining how this change came about, let’s rewind the calendars a bit. In fact, it’s worth going back a bit further and recalling the famous “exploratory” talks.
This topic, which everyone first Googled “what is exploratory,” was the symbol of Erdogan’s cunningly implemented success story after losing the June 2015 elections.
The AKP, which lost the elections, kept the opposition busy by saying, “We are having exploratory talks!” and then prepared a devilish plan that would result in the loss of hundreds of lives and took the country to the November elections.
Remember the media of that time.
With the coup of the ‘Pelican Organization’ led by Hilal Kaplan, the AKP delegation led by the “overthrown prime minister” Davutoğlu, and the CHP delegation led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, engaged in endless “exploratory” talks about the country’s issues.
From the outside, one could think that a civil coalition meeting was being held in a democratic country. But everything was just Erdogan’s game. Just imagine; the AKP and CHP delegations were discussing lowering the election threshold and a new constitution.
With the extraordinary support of the then head of the MIT, Hakan Fidan, Erdogan put his bloody plan into action, overturned the table, and turned the country into a bloodbath to preserve his seat.
But people’s, especially politicians’, memories in Turkey are very short. Özgür Özel, who emerged from the March 31 elections with a historic success, went straight to Erdogan as if this experience didn’t exist.
Turkey has been talking about this meeting for days. Just like the “exploratory” talks of 2015. Erdogan swept the historic defeat under the rug. He didn’t allow the tragic economic misery to be discussed. He obscured the fact that while shedding tears for Palestine on screen, behind the scenes, he was deeply engaged in trade with Israel.
The list goes on. In short, this meeting and the game played afterward were a jackpot for Erdogan and the AKP.
Now history is repeating itself.
Erdogan met with the leader of the CHP, Özgür Özel, and after Friday prayers today, he continues to give “softening messages.” Of course, in the meantime, he throws scoring passes to his base and the “Aktrolls” fed by the Palace.
Özgür Özel made three major fatal mistakes in two days. First, he made a statement challenging May 1st. He called on the people to gather in the square, then he disappeared. It wasn’t as big a scandal as when Muharrem İnce got drunk and disappeared on the day of the presidential election, but it was still a serious mistake for Özel.
Then came the “empty seat” goal in the meeting with Erdogan. What Özgür Özel and his team forgot is that Erdogan is a master player! Would he leave you there without crushing you and sending a message to his base?
And they did it…
The seating arrangement, the state of the chairs, the messages given. It was reminiscent of the time when Israelis gave the message of “low chairs.” Özel suffered a serious blow here too. With the statements made afterward, he was in the third goal.
To put it colloquially without dragging it out; Erdogan has put Özgür Özel and the opposition public on the “minibus” and is taking them “only in the direction he knows” by flattering them.
Let’s come to the issue of the “passing grade” emphasized in the title.
What I have told you so far would have been enough for Özgür Özel to be acceptable to the components of power, but that’s not the main point. There is a two-sentence section in the “content” served to the “Pool Media” from the Palace about Özgür Özel’s meeting with Erdogan.
The subject is July 15th.
When Erdogan brought the topic to July 15th to see where Özel stood, he heard the magic word he wanted to hear from his interlocutor. Regarding July 15th, which the previous leader of the CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, defined as a “controlled coup,” Özgür Özel said, “I have never said ‘theater’.”
This was what the Erdogan-Ergenekon alliance wanted to hear. Because one of the two red lines of the new regime is July 15th. The other is hostility towards Kurds.
With this statement, Özgür Özel reassured Erdogan. Erdogan immediately gave the answer the next day in front of the cameras. Erdogan, who is the cause of all the problems, economic collapse, and social turmoil in the country, announced that “there is a need for softening” and that he would pay a return visit to the CHP.
Now Özgür Özel will be the “Mr. Özgür Özel” of the pro-government media! Until this meeting, everyone, including Erdogan, was calling him “Özgür Efendi.”
Let’s come to Özgür Özel’s historical mistake.
The source of today’s problems, lawlessness, economic collapse, and societal crisis is directly the Erdogan-Bahçeli alliance. That alliance was built on the July 15th plot. If you had any intention of showing existence against this regime, you should have first questioned the foundation, which is July 15th.
Because if you did a little investigation, sent your team to follow a couple of cases, talked to a few families of military academy graduates, you would have lifted the veil on the plot. But if you don’t do these and use the language of the regime, you won’t do anything other than buttering Erdogan’s bread.
One thing that should not be forgotten is this; today’s single-man dictatorship is built on the July 15th plot. Of course, there is another dimension to Erdogan’s strategy; to stir up the inside of the CHP.
Erdogan’s basic strategy is; buy those who are not obedient; if that doesn’t work, divide them. If it still doesn’t work, declare them a terrorist organization and carry out genocide. By complimenting Özgür Özel in this way and putting him in the forefront with his media, Erdogan is killing two birds with one stone.
Apart from setting the agenda, he pulls the pin of the hand grenade and throws it into the CHP. Özgür Özel is being polished, and Erdogan wants to block Ekrem İmamoğlu’s path. He’s trying to create a division within the CHP between the “Özelists” and “İmamoğluists.”
Can he do it?
Why not? As long as this administration and this partisan media exist in the CHP, Erdogan can take all of them to water and bring them back thirsty.
If his health permits, of course.
Let me finish by reminding Özgür Özel and the CHP of a rule they know very well but seem to forget when it comes to Erdogan; “The struggle against fascism starts with language. You cannot fight it by using the language of power.”
