The changing language of politics, the realities of the street, and a Pakistanizing Turkey

We are in a period where we can easily say that we are experiencing a stagnation in politics.

As everyone knows, before general and local elections, political party leaders were constantly heating up the environment with harsh rhetoric in public squares, on television screens, and on social media.

The unchanging language and rhetoric of the government, the association of the opposition with terrorism, the issue of national survival, foreign powers, etc.

How strange it is that when the elections end, the issue of terrorism and national survival, along with the foreign powers, also disappear.

In fact, warm and seemingly sincere bilateral meetings are held with the fundamental elements of the so-called survival issue. At the end of these meetings, messages of softening are given.

One cannot help but ask.

How is it that political figures who were associated with terrorist hubs and accused of collaboration just a few months ago suddenly evolve into politicians with whom it is perfectly normal and ordinary to hold meetings?

How is it that messages of 'softening in politics' are suddenly being given?

What is truly interesting is the electorate, which never ceases to surprise…

Does no one ask, “Mr. Leader of the Century, what happened that you sat at the table with these names, whom you attacked with the harshest expressions to associate them with terrorism?”

The answer is simple, of course, it is not asked…

That is how politics is in Turkey…

RECOGNIZING THE CUNNING OLD MAN THROWING TILES AT THE OKEY TABLE....

Let us come to our politics and politician profiles….

It is absolutely impossible to attempt to engage in politics without truly being involved with the people, without hitting the streets, and without knowing the psychology of the villager, the tradesman, and the student.

But this state of being in the field, that is, the state of descending into the very cells of the public, must be real, not just in name.

Public opinion polls can draw a roadmap for politicians up to a certain point, but I can say that they are often unreliable.

I say this while exempting companies that conduct research properly.

In the world of research, perception managers, sycophants, and manipulators are running rampant.

Perhaps it will be a bit of an exaggeration, but if a politician were to spend time in village coffeehouses in disguise and eavesdrop on the conversations of elderly villagers and retirees chatting aimlessly at okey tables, they could determine a very accurate strategy for their political future.

How so?

For example, they could determine that the Turkish public prioritizes simple interests. They could better understand what cunning means and to what extent it is a widespread characteristic reality.

They could witness how, at the same table, the survival of the state is discussed while at the same time an answer is sought to the question, ‘How can one evade taxes?’

And they could witness the cunning old man, who asks his friend for advice at the okey table on how to evade taxes, praising what a great service it is that funerals are now buried easily without needing shroud money…

THE BRUISED DIGNITY OF THE TURKISH PEOPLE

We are talking about an economic crisis. Everyone is struggling to make a living. The exchange rate is high. Business people are anxious and cautious. While the public continues to become impoverished, the ‘lucky minority’ close to the government continues to get rich in an unbelievable way.

While impoverishment progresses insidiously but just as visibly, we see that we are becoming devalued every day and we are facing this painful reality.

Let us ask 'How so?' once again, then?

For instance, while our delicious fruits bursting from the fertile Anatolian soil are sent to European countries, we make do with the cherry remnants we can buy from labor-exploiting three-letter supermarket chains.

The tomatoes we eat don't taste like tomatoes, and the fruit we eat doesn't taste like fruit.

Our people, who attempt to go abroad for various reasons, are humiliated in visa queues. We are declared unwanted people. Academics, journalists, artists, and even delegations and athletes who have qualified to participate in official international sports competitions cannot get visas. We are rejected.

On the same days, AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gives a visa good news.

To whom? To the Romanians…

Now they will also be able to enter Turkey freely. But what about us Turks? No, we will continue to be humiliated in visa queues to enter Romania. Our dignity will be bruised once again.

TURKISH FAMILY TRAVELING ON CHEAP CHINESE MOTORCYCLES

How else does the economic crisis reflect on our lives?

We look to our right and left; mothers and fathers traveling with their five-year-old babies on Chinese-made motorcycles… No helmets. 3, sometimes 4 people on one motorcycle.

The streets are full of cheap Chinese-made motorcycles. Because there is no money to buy a quality one. Why has motorcycle usage increased? The answer is simple because people can no longer afford fuel.

On one hand, there is the rush to reach somewhere, to catch up. They find the solution in using low-quality, unsafe, flimsy motorcycles. The scene that emerges is a Turkey that is becoming like India, like Pakistan, moving away from civilization and rules….

Harder days await us…

Let us not just speak words.. Let us also provide data

Before Özgür Özel, Erdoğan held two meetings with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, which were also accompanied by delegations. One of the meetings was in 2012, the other was on July 15..

The rejection rate for Schengen visas reached 21.7 percent for the entirety of last year. In 2023, the visa applications of at least 169 thousand 514 Turkish citizens were rejected.

The number of motorcycles registered to traffic in 2023 reached 528 thousand. As of July 2023, according to TUIK data, the number of motorcycles registered to traffic in Turkey was 4 million 660 thousand.