He missed his chance to be a 'leader'!

He will likely finish his political life at most as the “CHP Chairman.”

If things continue this way, sooner or later he will face the wrath of the delegates at an ordinary or extraordinary convention, leave his seat to Ekrem İmamoğlu, and after a likely early election, pack his bags and return to his pharmacy in Manisa.

Even if he doesn't return, he will settle in İzmir and live comfortably on his retired MP pension, taking his place in Turkish political history as the second most incompetent chairman the CHP has ever had.

Let's get to the point.

Last week's agenda was dominated by Özgür Özel's meeting with Tayyip.

There is almost nothing that hasn't been written about this meeting. 

But few have really pondered the psychopolitical aspect of the issue.

For some reason, he is still not aware that he is at the head of the country's founding party.

Not only is he unaware, but you would be hard-pressed to find the self-confidence that comes with being the CHP Chairman.

Let's write it without beating around the bush.

Özgür Özel does not have the makings of a leader.

A leader, even if they are a political novice, does not seek advice from former presidents in public, and if they do, they do not announce it to the public.

A leader does not run to their former chairman to get a pat on the back after going all the way to the doorstep of someone who has brought the country to the brink of political, social, and economic ruin. They do not concern themselves with justifying their own actions.

A leader knows what not to say more than what to say.

A leader is careful about who they stand next to in the photos they provide. 

A leader is not a tambourine player at a wedding or a mourner at a funeral. 

A leader approaches issues based on principles. They know the philosophy, history, and program of the party they lead like the back of their hand.

A leader does not scream until their throat is raw when speaking. But when they take the podium, they excite and inspire the masses, and if necessary, they can mobilize people with a single word.

A leader possesses charisma. They do not wander around with a hollow ego like a dissatisfied teenager.

A leader thinks carefully before taking a step; like a master chess player, they think not just one, but three or five moves ahead!

A leader does not engage in daily political maneuvers, ignoring the corpus of the party they lead, just to stay on the agenda, get a pat on the back from here and there, or please this person or that.

Unfortunately, with his attitude and behavior after the local elections, Özgür Özel has lost the chance to be a leader who could truly offer hope to Turkey.

Let us underline this with a thick pen.

Furthermore;

If he sees no harm in turning back from Taksim Square, which was closed by Tayyip's order on May 1st, and appearing before His Majesty the next day as if nothing had happened, then he does not deserve the Chairmanship of the CHP.

But if he had shown the courage to say, “Hey Tayyip, is this your understanding of democracy? I will not discuss anything with this fascist mentality. I am canceling the upcoming appointment” after facing the police in Saraçhane square, then he would have taken a step toward becoming a “CHP leader.”

The “empty chair” at the meeting is beyond a scandal anyway...

Let's say he couldn't show the courage to cancel the appointment after May 1st; if he had walked out of the room the moment he saw that empty chair at the AKP Headquarters and made a statement saying, “I am the chairman of the party that came in first in the elections in this country. Mr. Erdoğan should first learn to respect his counterparts,” we could still say he had “leadership qualities.”

But he didn't, he couldn't.

He persistently and stubbornly chose to follow Tayyip's lead.

We weren't expecting him to disrupt the game he set up, but we didn't think he would adopt an attitude that would whitewash all the sins of the political Islamists' 22-year rule, legitimize this medieval mentality under the pretext of “normalizing politics,” and at the same time serve Tayyip's operation to make people forget his election defeat.

So why is he acting like this?

Does he have a hidden agenda in the back of his mind that no one knows about? 

It's hard to say.

His inexperience, incompetence, and political ignorance aside, the issue is, one way or another, related to his personality and psychological makeup.

To understand Özgür Özel's psychology, two images reflected on the screens during this process were very important.

The first; the confusion and panic Özgür Özel experienced after Tayyip sent AKP Deputy Group Chairman Muhammed Emin Akbaşoğlu to say, “Our President invites you for tea” at the April 23rd Reception in the Turkish Grand National Assembly!

Clearly, he was not expecting such an invitation at all.

The surprise he felt when Tayyip called him was reflected on his face. Everyone there witnessed his subsequent panic.

Without thinking, he ran and lined up alongside the other party leaders in front of Tayyip.

He questioned neither the reason for such an invitation nor the way it was made.

He went and sat in front of Tayyip with the demeanor of a child wanting to get into his teacher's good graces.

The second; the images of Tayyip welcoming Özgür Özel and Namık Tan at the AKP Headquarters.

Whether they are an ordinary citizen or a psychopolitical expert, anyone watching these would have seen that Özgür Özel didn't know where to put his hands, and noticed the forced smile and confused expression on his face while posing for the cameras.

While Tayyip was giving the message “I am the boss here” with his demeanor and attitude, Özgür Özel was experiencing the excitement of an ordinary citizen receiving a royal greeting, as if he were not the chairman of the party that came in first in the elections.

Say what you will, Tayyip knows politics, sets up the game well, and plays it well.

Even though his political algorithm is entirely focused on winning elections, he experienced a major failure in the local elections. 

But he started an effort to make people forget this defeat without wasting any time, and he took the reins as if it were not he and his party that were defeated.

Let's be honest; no matter how much Özgür Özel wins at the ballot box, he cannot defeat Tayyip in his mind.

When he was elected as an MP, that is, in 2011, Tayyip had been sitting in the Prime Minister's seat for nine years.

He always did politics under Tayyip's shadow, first as Prime Minister and then as President.

It is clear that after a while, this became his “political normal.”

Considering the election defeats he experienced one after another, Tayyip inevitably turned into an invincible authority figure in Özgür Özel's subconscious over time.

Now he cannot overcome this.

And since he cannot overcome it, he sees no harm in going to his doorstep, appearing before him, following his lead, and appearing to pledge allegiance. Not only does he not make an issue of this, but he constantly tries to justify himself.

Let us end our article by saying that unfortunately, as long as the “leadership” problem in the CHP is not solved, it will not be easy for the country to get rid of the domination of the political Islamist mentality.