Future Party Leader Ahmet Davutoğlu's 'You failed the exam' jab at CHP: Let no one be offended or hurt

Davutoğlu criticized the CHP over the accusations and arrests of certain mayors. Davutoğlu stated, "I see the current state of the CHP as a party that has failed its midterm exam and lost its preparation for the final. But you have failed the midterm. You say, 'I will play for power in the final.' You cannot do it; you must cleanse yourselves."

Saying, "I am speaking clearly. Let no one be offended, let no one be hurt," Davutoğlu remarked, "If the mayors they held in high esteem two years ago are mired in corruption with many confessors, and if some have changed parties to avoid going to prison, the main opposition party must also take a look at itself. I currently see the state of the CHP as a party that has failed its midterm exam and lost its preparation for the final. But you have failed the midterm. You say, 'I will play for power in the final.' You cannot do it; you must cleanse yourselves."

Highlights from Davutoğlu's speech are as follows:

"YOU WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS A BLACK STAIN ON TURKISH POLITICS"

Since the 2023 elections, 37 deputies have changed parties. In these party changes, the main opposition party is just as problematic as the ruling party. 76 mayors have switched to the AK Party in the last 2 years. 37 deputies represent 10 percent of the Parliament. If 10 percent have shifted to a position completely opposite to what they said in the previous election campaign, this is called moral decay. For God's sake, I understand people changing their political views after soul-searching, but I am addressing those who have no political views and only change sides for their own advancement; you will go down in history as a black stain on Turkish politics. Wherever you go, you will be remembered that way. But most importantly, your greatest harm will be making a 19-year-old youth ask this question. What you call power rests on three elements: knowledge, capital, and authority. We built great civilizations because we adorned these three elements with morality.

"A REAL POLITICAL MORAL REVOLUTION IS ESSENTIAL"

Such ties have been established between capital and power that the government distributes rent to capital. Capital gives money to the government for election campaigns. This distorted relationship has reached a state of systemic political corruption. Is it any different in the main opposition than it is in the government? I am speaking clearly. Let no one be offended, let no one be hurt. If the mayors they held in high esteem two years ago are mired in corruption with many confessors, and if some have changed parties to avoid going to prison, the main opposition party must also take a look at itself. I currently see the state of the CHP as a party that has failed its midterm exam and lost its preparation for the final. But you have failed the midterm. You say, 'I will play for power in the final.' You cannot do it; you must cleanse yourselves. The government, on the other hand, is already at the center of this decay. Carrying out a real political moral revolution is a duty, a necessity, and a requirement.

"WE CALLED THE AK PARTY 'CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS'"

This government looks at quantity. That is why it takes 76 mayors. When the AK Party was founded, its name was the 'Movement of the Virtuous.' Do you know what it is now? The movement of the opportunists. You are taking in all the opportunists. Let no one expect us to remain silent in the face of this. Let no one expect us to take a step back. Mental desertification, this is also grave. Look at the concepts during the founding process of the AK Party. Where is conservative democracy? We used to call the AK Party conservative democrats. Where is the balance of freedom and security that we produced theoretically and philosophically and put into the AK Party programs? There is no freedom. We are facing such a picture. Is this only in the AK Party? I am also addressing the main opposition party; there is a mental desertification in you as well. This desertification will not end without free thought. This process of moral degradation will not end without a moral reform, a revolution.