Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), took his boycott threat to German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) one step further on Wednesday evening. Özel, who earlier called for a boycott of the Skoda and Audi brands as well as their parent company VW, singled out the brand as he addressed supporters in Istanbul’s Şişli district.
“I am in touch with the labor union in Germany and will force the company to reposition itself,” Özel said.
VW’s Türkiye dealership is owned by Doğuş, a business conglomerate including news broadcaster NTV. The CHP leader incited boycott calls against the conglomerate and other companies owning TV stations when they did not broadcast rallies the party held in support of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was arrested on charges of corruption in March.
Özel, who owns an Audi car, had earlier called for a boycott of the company before correcting the boycott to include only “purchase of new cars.” On Thursday, he also renewed his call for a boycott of two popular restaurant chains owned by Doğuş. “Let them go bankrupt,” he told the crowd of supporters.
It is unclear to what extent the boycott will hurt VW as it is among the most popular brands in Türkiye and most CHP-run municipalities appear to own at least one VW as the official car of top officials, a fact Özel had acknowledged in another speech earlier this month.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday criticized the CHP over the riots it incited and boycotts.
“Marginal groups acting as ‘Blackshirts’ of the opposition threaten local businesses,” Erdoğan said, referring to a Mussolini-era fascist group in Italy.
“What has surfaced so far is a harbinger of what will come. You cannot prevent justice from prevailing,” Erdoğan said at an event of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the capital, Ankara. He was repeating his earlier remarks that branded pro-CHP riots as an attempt to divert attention from the corruption investigation into the mayor, as well as into allegations that the CHP’s current chair, Özgür Özel, bought votes in an intraparty election in November 2023.
The CHP gathered crowds in Istanbul for days after Imamoğlu was detained on March 19. The “Saraçhane rallies,” named after the quarter where the Istanbul municipality hall is located, soon triggered riots mainly involving the youth attacking police.
Encouraged by the support, Özel, a proponent of early elections, launched a boycott of brands he accused of supporting the government. His boycott call drew the ire of the government, which branded it as an attempt to derail the economy by targeting local businesses.
“In the past three weeks, Türkiye saw the true fascist face of the CHP. The rallies evolved into an all-out attack because of the rhetoric of the CHP chairperson. Local businesses were added to lynch lists and the main opposition directed marginal groups to threaten and harass those businesses with its discourse,” Erdoğan said on Wednesday. The president stated that Özel preferred to attempt to thwart the corruption investigation instead of acting responsibly. “They tried to defame state institutions like the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), wagging fingers at judiciary members and tried to cover up wrongdoings of criminal organizations targeting Istanbul,” he said.