Charisma built over years of effort squandered for the sake of 'votes'

There are only days left until the local elections.

We are experiencing calmer days compared to the general election processes, which were tense, controversial, and full of lies, slander, and conspiracies.

For our people, who have lost hope and are struggling with hunger, poverty, and abandonment to their fate, it is clear that local elections do not mean much.

Everyone is thinking a bit about what comes after April 1st.

It is predicted that the foreign exchange rate, suppressed by the government, will rise even further and that the economic crisis will turn into a devastating tsunami.

As the people shrink, they are trapped in a world small enough to fit into plates of cheap sunflower seeds, caught in a struggle for existence...

In this state, they do not want to be worn down further by witnessing the fights waged for the sake of rent or by being involved in these debates.

Of course, the election process continues to open wounds in the depths of our souls as a process where nerve-wracking developments occur, and it continues to cause us anxiety on behalf of our country.

To me, the most surprising development in this local election process was that Hakan Fidan, the former head of the National Intelligence Organization and current Minister of Foreign Affairs, known for his mysterious personality and whose voice few have even heard, set aside all his mystery and took to the field for Istanbul candidate Murat Kurum.

Immediately afterward, he went around visiting shopkeepers to ask for votes for Turgut Altınok, who was revealed to own hundreds of apartments and more land than the surface area of Monaco.

Such an extraordinary event is truly rare. It is also not very possible to witness it.

I do not think Hakan Fidan is pleased with this strange situation, which does not fit logic, rules, or state decorum at all.

Because, while he was one of the most powerful figures in the state, privy to all its secrets for years, he suddenly found himself visiting shopkeepers.

Taking to the streets to ask for votes for figures like Kurum and Altınok damaged that mysterious, powerful personality that had been created with great effort over years. Yet, for many who vote for the ruling party, Fidan was regarded as if he were a superhuman being.

After all, the pro-government media even reported on his walk, describing how confidently he walked in giant halls where foreign state representatives were present.

Now that Fidan, while being the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, is asking for votes for Turgut Altınok on the streets of Ankara.

Moreover, while one of the greatest terrorist attacks in world history has taken place in Russia, and one of the attackers has said they went from Turkey.

Moreover, while our country's borders have been riddled with holes and security problems have reached a peak...

Moreover, while the Turkish people are being isolated from the world, devalued, and dragged through visa queues.

In short, the fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey is out collecting votes for Turgut Altınok and Murat Kurum as if he has nothing else to do leaves one in constant astonishment.

It will be repetitive, but I am sure Hakan Fidan does not like this situation.

Because his accessibility has been exposed. The perception has been shattered. Human ambitions have been scattered. The charisma of years has evaporated and vanished into the sky.

However....

In an environment where President Erdoğan takes to the streets with his presidential identity, using vehicles belonging to the Presidency, and his giant convoy to hold rallies, Hakan Fidan cannot have the luxury of saying "I want to stay in the background."

One cannot help but say, "What is this ambition for power? What are you, Istanbul?"