The Dagger

The entry of the “dagger” into the political lexicon dates back a long time.

With the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, who was stabbed to death by Brutus, the dagger became a symbol of betrayal. Brutus was very close to Caesar. He was the son of his mistress. For this reason, the words “Et tu, Brute?” became the slogan for being betrayed by those close to one.

Although the main theme of the story is betrayal, the relationship between the cause and the consequence of that betrayal has often remained out of sight.

In the Roman Republic, the concentration of the Senate's authority into a single hand according to Roman law, and Caesar declaring himself dictator for life to become the sole Consul, were the causes of the uprising.

Caesar's greatest trait was his ability to hide his ambitions for many years while advancing, and how he eventually transformed into a god-like figure in the country due to his extreme arrogance. His statues were now being carried alongside those of the Roman gods, the month of his birth, July, was named after him as “Julius,” and the day of his birth was declared a public holiday.

A group of senators who reacted to this situation and wanted the Roman Republic to return to its founding principles took action in 44 BC, along with Brutus, and killed him by stabbing him 23 times.

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In Turkish politics, where victimhood is a premium, the use of the concepts of betrayal and being stabbed in the back is frequently witnessed.

The polemic initiated by bringing this worn-out slogan back onto the agenda at the CHP Congress did not remain limited to that day. Despite the success achieved by the new administration in the local elections, it is persistently being kept on the agenda by the Former Chairman of the CHP.

The Former Chairman cannot bring himself to accept being defeated by delegate votes, a natural part of politics.

Yet, the last 13 years of the CHP have been the scene of many stabbings. The most devastating of these dagger blows were dealt to the CHP's founding ideology and the defenders of this ideology, and a politics without identity or principles was made dominant in the party.

The care taken to avoid mentioning Atatürk's name continued for years, and the CHP's most brilliant period was condemned by calling it the “CHP of the 1930s.”

While religious rhetoric became indispensable for the main opposition, attacks on secularism were ignored and even supported with statements that “there is no threat to secularism.”

Indifference was shown to religion's attacks in social life aimed at crushing positive law and the Constitution and spreading its own hegemony, and tacit support was given.

While the dagger plunged into the CHP's corporate identity and its Revolutions bled the hearts of all Kemalists, no management approach that cared about the wounds opened was displayed.

Aside from the consecutive defeats in elections, the presidency was served to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on a silver platter through the recklessness shown in the selection of presidential candidates and the imposition of a low-profile, Islamist-identified candidate.

With the Table of Six fiasco, the Former Chairman of the CHP, who tried to appease and make every concession to parties with no vote potential, Neo-Ottomanist, cult-affiliated, and former AKP members, ignored the pain of his own base and all poll results, condemning Turkey to four more years of darkness.

Aside from the fact that intra-party democracy was disregarded in candidate selection and YCHP-profile candidates were preferred, a management model was created where not having a CHP background was a premium, and priority was given to selecting headquarters advisors from those who did not carry a CHP identity.

If there is to be talk of betrayal, the one truly betrayed for 13 years is the loyal CHP base.

CHP members felt helpless, tired, saddened, and hurt during the Kılıçdaroğlu era.

What did Mevlana say? “Do not hurt, for you will be hurt from where you hurt.”

Instead of telling everyone how much he suffered, how he kept silent, and how much he was victimized, if the Former Chairman could have engaged in self-criticism and reviewed his mistakes, he could have had the opportunity to be a balm for the dagger wounds he opened by winning the hearts of those he hurt, instead of being so hurt himself.

Let us conclude the article with the verses of Yunus Emre:

Get along well with the flowers

Do not hurt the honey, oh heart

For the sake of a small fruit

Do not hurt the branch, oh heart

Do not be arrogant when the Lord gives

Do not be angry when He takes it back

Do not break the smoking hearth

Do not hurt the ashes, oh heart