Özgür Özel's 'emotional control' problem

If a chronicle of this were to be kept in Turkish politics, there is no doubt that the CHP of the recent period would fill every page of that book.

Let's not beat around the bush; we are talking about a CHP leadership that set out with the claim of changing the 23-year AKP government under these circumstances, yet experiences a mental breakdown at the slightest moment of crisis.

What happened during the resignation process of the Keçiören Mayor is not just a new example of this picture, but also an expression of a political style that has become a character issue for Özgür Özel.

Let's underline this with a thick pen.

The departure of a mayor from a symbolic district like Keçiören is, of course, an important political issue.

It could be debated, criticized, and even met with extremely harsh responses. But this would be done in a way that would not damage the CHP's political weight, maturity, and self-confidence.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Özgür Özel's reaction, which was also reflected on social media, was more psychological than political.

Saying whatever came to his mind via WhatsApp, using sentences bordering on insults, adopting an attitude that personalizes the issue; painting a profile of a chairman who cannot control his emotions and cannot manage his anger...

Yet he is at the head of the opposition's largest party, and moreover, he claims to come to power and govern Turkey!

This is not the first time we have encountered this picture.

Özgür Özel's fundamental problem on the political stage is exactly here; he puts his emotions ahead of his political judgment.

It is worth writing clearly; it is of course possible for a chairman to get angry; but his inability to manage his anger and his presentation of personal sensitivities as institutional reflexes takes this out of being a personal weakness and turns it into a political risk for both the party he leads and its voter base.

What happened in Keçiören is a perfect example of this.

When we look at social media, our people were, as always, divided in two. On one side, those criticizing Özgür Özel's attitude, and on the other, those applauding him by saying, "Good for him, he didn't even say enough."

Let us state in advance that the resignation of Keçiören Mayor Mesut Özarslan from the CHP, while simultaneously flirting with both the AKP and the MHP, is political immorality in the truest sense of the word. After taking the will of the CHP voters into his bag in the local elections, his search for a roof under which to peddle these votes has once again revealed how politics in Turkey has become polluted and decayed, and how unreliable politicians are.

There is no point in debating this anyway.

It is worth repeating, the real issue here is the state of emotional overflow that Özgür Özel experiences in crisis situations.

Of course, since we know his past performances, this did not come as much of a surprise.

We are talking about a figure who cannot manage to hold back his tears and who falls apart emotionally in the face of the harshness of politics.

For instance, he sobbed while listening to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's farewell speech, and also while explaining his goal of bringing the CHP to power after 100 years on a television program he appeared on. We all watched live on air as he was overcome with tears at the funeral ceremonies of Manisa Metropolitan Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek and Şehzadeler Mayor Gülşah Durbay.

He could not hold back his tears when the Soma verdict was announced either. Just as he did when İmamoğlu received his mandate!

There are many examples.

Of course, crying is not a flaw in itself; it is a very human situation. There is no doubt about that, but politics, especially Turkish politics, does not accept, carry, or cannot carry the state of constantly crying, being teary-eyed, and being unable to keep one's emotions under control as a "leadership trait"!

Our people do not like this kind of partly cloudy, moderately wavy state of mind; they see it as a weakness.

Demirel, Ecevit, Erbakan, Özal, or other political figures in Turkey's recent history were not like Özgür Özel. Whether they were in power or in opposition, they were able to act cool-headedly in any crisis in a manner befitting a statesman.

They knew very well that state discipline required this.

For example, Ecevit's voice did not even tremble while announcing that the Turkish soldier had set foot in Cyprus in 1974. Likewise, when he announced that Abdullah Öcalan had been captured!

Demirel had experienced all kinds of political ups and downs, but he did not let himself get emotional, especially in front of cameras.

Erbakan did not show the excitement he felt even when he sat in the Prime Minister's chair for the first time; he continued to speak just as he had three days earlier when he was in the opposition.

Even though she was playing to the stands, Tansu Çiller, who in her own way challenged Greece during the Kardak crisis by saying, "That flag will come down, that soldier will leave," did not even get teary-eyed.

It is possible to multiply the examples.

Let's continue...

Even more interesting is that Özgür Özel's emotional swings sometimes turn into an almost childish joy. For example, after being elected CHP Chairman, he got "all excited" and grabbed the phone, calling Buket Aydın, one of the government's hitmen, looking for a pat on the back by saying, "Look, I got elected!"

His behaviors in front of the cameras that are incompatible with seriousness, his hand and arm gestures, his endless effort to talk back to someone; when looked at one by one, these might not be valued much and could be seen as tabloid material. But when you put them side by side, unfortunately, a leadership profile emerges that falls apart in a crisis, rejoices excessively in success, and has high emotional ups and downs.

The reflex he showed in the face of the Keçiören crisis is a continuation of this line. A reaction shown with outbursts of anger without operating intra-party resolution mechanisms, without forming a common mind, and without making a cool-headed statement to the public.

However, a chairman's duty is not to prevent every resignation. The real duty is to protect the party's institutional dignity even when there is a very critical resignation.

Moreover, there is no understandable reason for him to directly address a mayor when there are plenty of deputy chairmen, Ankara deputies, and provincial and district heads.

In other words, there were plenty of people in the party who should have handled the matter, so this should not have been Özgür Özel's job.

On the other hand, we have been seeing that it is not dignity but hysteria that has dominated the influential and authorized names of the CHP for a long time.

This assessment needs to be made with an open heart.

Unfortunately, it is the Chairman himself who feeds this state of mind. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Özgür Özel has made the CHP's oldest illnesses more visible in the seat he came to with the claim of "change."

The problem is that as long as the person at the head of an ambitious opposition party like the CHP cannot manage his own emotions, he cannot give confidence to society. And our people inevitably ask the question, "How would this man manage the crisis if he were to govern the country?"

What does a chairman who loses control in the face of the resignation of a mayor in a district of Ankara do in the face of bigger storms, in matters concerning the survival of the country?

The issue here is not just Keçiören. The issue is that the person at the head of the CHP displays a state of mind that is incompatible with state seriousness. Politics does not equal lack of emotion, but it should not just be about acting according to one's emotions either.

Unfortunately, Özgür Özel cannot establish this balance.

Moreover, this situation also damages discipline within the party. Because the leader's emotional reactions take precedence over institutional mechanisms. The way is paved for everything to be perceived personally; the risk of every objection turning into a personal issue increases.

Let us conclude our article by saying that while the country is heading towards a cliff like a truck with broken brakes in the hands of the political Islamist government, the last thing Turkey needs is for the person at the head of the main opposition party to be unable to maintain his emotional control.