'Can you draw me a picture of betrayal?'

If the great master Nâzım could see these days, he would surely ask this:

You don't necessarily have to be a painter to draw a picture of some betrayals.

A single “yes” is enough.

Özgür Özel's stance on the “framework law” is exactly that!

Let us state it upfront.

The issue is not merely a political tactical error.

Özgür Özel has betrayed the political legacy left by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The rest is empty talk.

He came out and spoke at length.

He said, “Trusting in our nation, not the government... trusting in our party's stance, not this text... we will say yes without endorsing this text, but by bearing the responsibility for peace.”

Then he called on the deputies to make decisions based on the sensitivities of the regions they represent.

Good luck to anyone who can make sense of that!

You both say “yes”...

You don't endorse the text...

You say you are assuming historical responsibility...

And you tell the deputies to “decide based on where you are.”

That is not how politics works!

Politics is not conducted at the expense of the homeland.

This is just hitting the ball as it comes to save the day.

Or rather, it is leaving an escape hatch for tomorrow.

If the reaction rising from his base hadn't been so harsh, if people hadn't reached the point of spewing hatred, would Özgür Özel have made such a statement that leaves room for maneuvering!

The base was angry.

He saw how that anger would reflect on the ballot box, the organization, and the streets.

He hit the brakes.

So that if the tide turns one day, he can say, “I did not endorse the text...”

But he didn't stop completely.

Let's sit crooked and talk straight.

There is another calculation here that comes before the supreme interests of the country.

Protecting the seat.

Özgür Özel's calculation is for the post-Tayyip Erdoğan and post-Devlet Bahçeli era.

He is waiting for the day when the power space will naturally become vacant.

He thinks that when that day comes, the political arena will be left to him.

İmamoğlu is sidelined.

We see that Mansur Yavaş has not yet displayed a political will to say “I am here.”

Therefore, even if Özgür Özel doesn't declare it, he knows he is the sole candidate.

But there is a problem.

He needs to protect his seat until that day.

And that is not very easy.

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Because everyone knows:

The government does not put hay in front of a donkey it does not intend to kiss.

That is why there has been a softening from the very beginning...

A warming up...

Flirting with the Palace...

Poses given in a plaid jacket...

Greetings to Islamist circles...

Winks at Kurdish-oriented politics...

They are all different parts of the same political calculation!

Indeed, the government has also seen this calculation.

We learned about it when Ali Mahir Başarır let it slip.

They went to Bahçeli and said, “You keep Kılıçdaroğlu away from the CHP, and in return, we will give members to the commission.”

Bahçeli sold them for three cents, yet their rapport remains constant... There is nothing to say!

Now a new act has opened.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has sent the summaries of proceedings prepared for the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of Özgür Özel and Veli Ağbaba to the Ministry of Justice.

The file also includes the charge of “receiving bribes in a chain” under Article 252 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The base penalty for the charge is imprisonment from four to 12 years. When the provisions for chain crimes are applied, the upper limit can go up to 21 years. If the government presses the button, the process of lifting immunity could begin.

Then it will become clear how fragile all of today's calculations are. Because the political return of getting along well with the Palace is not as guaranteed as it is thought to be.

The one who holds your hand today can pull the rug out from under you tomorrow.

And then?

Clouds in the sky, forget all your political dreams!

That is why trying to explain the decision to say yes to the ‘framework law’ solely with the calculation of getting votes from Kurdish voters, with a love for democracy, or with so-called talk of a Turkey without terror remains incomplete.

The issue is as much about the relationship Özgür Özel wants to establish with the government as it is about vote calculations, perhaps even more so.

No matter what anyone says, the opposition not saying “no” as a bloc is a significant political success for the government. This will also pave the way for Tayyip Erdoğan to be a candidate again, perhaps to sit in that seat until his final hour.

However, the cost is the fracture within the New Party's own base.

It has failed its first serious test.

For instance, when the Federation Constitution comes before him, will Özgür Özel be able to say “no”? Or will he grab the salt shaker and run before everyone else, saying, “let's not lose our seat for no reason”?

In short, the New Party is on the verge of losing its status as a “hope” in the eyes of people who have stood on a Republican and Atatürkist line for years.

Does Özgür Özel see this?

We don't know.

But what is clear is this:

While waiting for the day when the political arena will be left to him, the Atatürkist, Republican voters, who make up the most important part of that arena, are quietly drifting away.

Because the issue is not just about a clause in a law.

The issue is whether the founding values of the Republic, the unity and integrity of the country, are being made a subject of political bargaining.

Ultimately, how much can a political party abandon its historical identity and the spiritual legacy entrusted to it just so its chairman can keep his seat?

The answer to this will be given at the ballot box.

But one thing is already visible.

Even if some political calculations work out, some fractures are not easy to compensate for.

History, the white-bearded father, does not write down the words spoken to save the day, but the decisions made at critical thresholds.

Let us conclude with Nâzım's question;

“Can you draw me a picture of betrayal?”

Of course we can.

And with a single “yes,” let us put a period to our article.