Is this an opportunity for Özgür Özel to shed the CHP's ideological baggage?

They say the new party they are going to establish will be "inclusive."

They themselves know exactly what they mean when they say "inclusivity" now.

According to the rumors, the group seeking a new political future after their hopes for a party congress were exhausted has rolled up their sleeves for a "more inclusive party rising on the foundations of the CHP."

The ideological discourse of the new party will reportedly be fed by the "Turkey Alliance" approach used in the local elections.

In other words, as far as we can understand, a "center party" where conservatives, Islamists, social democrats, Kurds, and nationalists meet is being described.

Furthermore, they claim they will start a new era in politics by saying, "The new party will be built on the accumulation of the CHP, but it will not be a repetition of it."

However, the issue is not as it is being pushed to the opposition in our country.

Let us make the correct diagnosis:

Because this group cannot openly say that they are uncomfortable with the founding ideology and basic principles of the Republic, they are clinging to the fairy tale of "inclusivity" so as not to alarm the CHP base.

By saying "inclusivity," they are calculating to establish a political party that is "identityless" and "ideologyless."

There is no point in beating around the bush.

For Özgür Özel and his group, this is a golden opportunity to get rid of the historical, ideological, and revolutionary burden of the CHP!

Because we already know that none of them have ever been able to establish a strong bond with the basic principles of the CHP—for instance, secularism, the unitary structure, the nation-state; in short, the Six Arrows and the founding values of the country—and on the contrary, they see these as an obstacle, even a shackle, for themselves.

The CHP has been in an ideological drift for years.

The truth swept under the rug here is that Republicans and Kemalists have been excluded and purged from the party by talking about "inclusivity" and such.

Well, is the opposition in our country not aware of this?

That is where the shoe pinches...

Since the nation is fed up with the current government anyway, they think the public will not look at whether it has an identity or not, whether it has an ideology or not, and will not get hung up on details, but will go and cast their vote for Özgür Özel's new party.

Just like the saying, "A drowning man clutches at a snake..."

After getting rid of the CHP's ideological baggage, the rest is much easier... They can consort with Kurdish nationalists, sing tunes to the terrorist leader Öcalan without hesitation, and comfortably kiss and make up with Islamists.

When the discourse Özgür Özel has used since the day he was elected chairman, the flirtatious relationship he has established with the DEM Party, and the CHP's willing attitude regarding the Öcalan initiative are evaluated together, it can be seen by anyone who is not wearing blinders how close he stands to Kurdish nationalists.

So, the issue is not really about "including."

The policy of leaving ideologies aside and surrounding every segment with alliances existed during the Kılıçdaroğlu era as well. Özgür Özel is continuing the same line.

As a matter of fact, during that period, many right-wing politicians who had nothing to do with the CHP, and were even distant from the party's founding values, were made parliamentary and mayoral candidates despite serious objections from the base.

So what was the result?

A significant portion of these turncoats reverted to their true selves at the first turn.

One of the greatest dangers awaiting a political party is ideological ambiguity.

Take it from us; if you try to make lack of ideology an ideology, you will eventually lose your political backbone, provided you have one in the first place...

We all saw how the Nation Alliance, presented with the packaging of "inclusivity" during the Kılıçdaroğlu era, suffered a heavy defeat in the 2023 elections and how it exhausted the hopes of society.

Let those who blindly support the CHP not take offense; however, if this strategy is not a conscious operation aimed at burying the Republic's founding paradigm in the dusty pages of history, then the conclusion arises that Özgür Özel has a serious vision problem regarding politics.

One cannot help but ask:

Did it never occur to him to look at recent political history?

The ANAP experience of the 1980s showed this painfully. The claim of gathering everyone under the same roof may provide success in the short term as soon as ideological consistency weakens; however, in the long term, it strips the party of its identity and erodes its base.

Turgut Özal's formula created broad social support at the beginning; but in the end, it led to the erosion of the center-right and facilitated the march of political Islam to power.

The model marketed today under the name "Turkey Alliance" is nothing more than the new packaging of that old recipe. The "uniting the four tendencies" model, adapted from Turgut Özal's ANAP, is an experiment that has resulted in failure in Turkish political history.

The discourse of Özgür Özel's staff may seem attractive at first glance. However, there are no magic formulas in politics.

What keeps a party standing is not just the sum of different groups. What is essential is common principles, historical memory, and a solid ideological backbone.

If these are missing, every new partnership established is destined to be temporary, and every alliance created is destined to remain superficial.

Pragmatism is certainly important in politics; however, pragmatism and lack of principles should not be confused.

A party reaching out to broad segments of society does not mean it should dissolve its own essence. On the contrary, the strongest mortar that holds different social segments together is a solid ideological framework.

The strangest, most tragicomic part of the matter is that this purge policy, which strips parties of their identity, is presented to society as if it were a new ideological line.

Turn on the news channels that deem themselves worthy of the title "opposition media"; they are telling "New CHP" fairy tales 24 hours a day. Speakers close to the CHP or directly from the CHP continue to market this approach with flowery sentences as if they had made a great intellectual discovery.

They incessantly repeat the discourse that "The CHP will be more inclusive, the exclusionary politics of the old CHP will change."

One must ask:

Is what you call the "old CHP" the CHP before May 14, 2023, or earlier periods?

Since there is no significant difference in terms of ideological line between today's administration and the CHP before May 14, you must first clarify this conceptual confusion.

In short; the existence of an effort to erase the historical memory of the Republic is now more than evident.

Let us make our note to history:

The founding values of the Republic are not elements that can be randomly bargained over.

They are the cornerstones of this state.

The erosion of these values is an issue that concerns not just one party, but the future of Turkey.

As a result; the end of identityless parties built with political engineering is the trash heap of history.

What Turkey needs is not political structures that grow with short-term calculations but melt over time, but strong political actors with principles, historical consciousness, and social responsibility.

If a new party is really to be established, it must first clearly reveal its ideological backbone. Otherwise, let us put a period to our article by saying that the end of the road will be a political graveyard.