Turkish politics witnessed successive messages and statements this week from several political parties that have been intensely discussed and, by some circles, interpreted as emerging fractures within the ruling People’s Alliance.
All focus was on a memorandum-like written statement by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairperson Devlet Bahçeli, published on Wednesday, which came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday met with main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel and the wife of murdered nationalist activist Sinan Ateş on the same day.
Following local elections, Özel visited Erdoğan on May 2 and Erdoğan’s visit to the CHP headquarters in a first after 18 years was a manifestation of an intended normalization era in Turkish politics. In the March 31 local elections, the number of municipalities won by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) decreased from 39 to 24. The number of metropolitan and provincial mayors won by the CHP increased from 21 to 35. Meanwhile, the number of MHP municipalities decreased from 11 to eight, which means that the municipalities won by the People’s Alliance fell behind those of the CHP.
“It can be observed that a new equation with multiple variables is being tried to be established based on a search for normalization among political parties,” Bahçeli said in the statement.
“Considering that a non-satisfied group within the AK Party constantly muddies the waters, it is the sincerest wish of the Nationalist Movement Party that a broadly based alliance between the AK Party and the CHP, supported by other elements of the table of six is established,” he added.
On the same day, AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik said that Erdoğan and Özel discussed the drafting of a new constitution, the economy, foreign policy cooperation and the appointment of trustees to mayoralties, among other issues.
Çelik underlined, “The People’s Alliance, which was formed to protect our country from threats and carry it to the future in a strong manner, is decisively continuing its path.”
Some have translated this tension and Bahçeli’s latest statements as an answer to attempts to discard the MHP from the alliance and the AK Party’s aim to continue its path independently.
Another highly speculated issue that ignited heated debates on television and social media was Bahçeli sharing a photo on Twitter showing his hand with a ring spelling “Only Allah suffices me” on a file while Erdoğan pursued his meetings.
The photo is likely a reaction by Bahçeli not against the AK Party-CHP meeting and normalization but rather due to Erdoğan meeting Ateş’s spouse. “Our esteemed President can naturally meet with everyone and listen to everyone. We don’t mind,” Bahçeli said.
The tension comes just as a critical first hearing of the murder will be held in Ankara on July 1.
“The widespread defamation of the Nationalist-Idealist Movement through a murder case for which an indictment has been prepared, the constant polishing of some names, and them being circulated from door to door, screen to screen, is an attempt to poison the atmosphere of inner peace and tranquility rather than a search for rights and law,” Bahçeli said, referring to Ateş’s spouse.
Ateş, 38, was murdered in December 2022 in the capital Ankara. The murder of the academic came two years after he ended his tenure as head of Ülkü Ocakları, or Idealist Hearths, an influential foundation linked to the MHP.
Ayşe Ateş accused unnamed members of the Idealist Hearths and the MHP of involvement in the murder in a televised interview last month, while the opposition parties have claimed that the murder was politically motivated.
Still, Bahçeli, in the end, highlighted that the MHP’s commitment to the People’s Alliance will continue.
“Moreover, it is impossible for us to compromise on the People’s Alliance, turn back, abandon it or give up on its principles and goals. Everyone should know very well that we will stand by and support our president, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, no matter what the circumstances are, and that we will definitely not leave him alone,” he added.
While these sentences can be interpreted as a manifestation that nothing is wrong within the alliance, they can also be viewed as words of reproof that aim to impose the responsibility of breaking down the alliance on Erdoğan.
It is clear that some processes, including the Ayhan Bora Kaplan incident, the normalization between the AK Party and the CHP, as well as the Sinan Ateş file, have caused friction within the alliance as well as within some circles of the two parties. For now, the alliance will continue, as stated by both the AK Party and the MHP. Yet, the latest statements, messages and photos have the potential to increase the heat in Turkish politics in the upcoming weeks.