The new opposition in Turkey

Cab driver, Uncle Ferhat, says, "I regret so much that I didn"t vote for AK Party during the March 30 elections, but I will vote for Erdogan on August 10."

After asking "why", he replies, "I am a pro-MHP but am angry with Devlet Bahçeli. I cannot forgive that he has established an allegiance with CHP. Fethullah Gülen"s voice came to my home many years ago. I used to listen to his sermons with my kids. Now I am thinking that no one would let anyone live on a huge farm peacefully in Pensylvannia without asking for a price."

"You feel betrayed; is that why you are going to vote for Erdogan?", "Look sister," he says. "People from Bingöl get in this cab, and also from Batman and Diyarbakir, others too. Pro-BDP guys say "we have to protect Tayyip since there is no matryr news anymore. No Turk or Kurd is dying. And for me, even if I don"t have a slight bit of affection for Öcalan, I respect him because he did not break his promise."''

My eyes are getting tearful behind my sun glasses. I start to realize that a pro-MHP taxi driver is taking the words of his BDP customers as a source of reference is one of the most outstanding signs of the New Turkey.

A few days after Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu"s declaration for his presidential candidacy, I was discussing the event with some people again. Among them were shopkeepers, businessmen, housewives. There were people who said, "I voted for AK Party on March 30, but now I am going to vote for Ekmeleddin." Hearing the same answer from all of them fostered my idea that the "parallel structure" made a lobby act for Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu by knocking on every door though this time not secretly but openly. I re-talked with the same people on the occasion of this Ramadan holiday and asked them about their opinions on Ihsanoglu. This time they said, "Oh no, not now" or "come on, I was just kidding."

An Ihsanoglu project made in the laboratary conditions. During the March 30 elections, based on the allegiance between CHP and MHP ( I am not including the ones below the one percent level communities or parties), the objective was to capture votes from the conservatives of AK Party to another compelling candidate. However, the laboratuary conditions are alike with the reality.The first objection came from the CHP base who considered secularism as a religion. And even if he was "moderate", they were against the idea of a "Muslim" president. This kind of self-concietedness, snobbery also irritated the MHP voters.

But of course, what made Ihsanoglu engross this loss and made him lose his target votes before capturing them was his election campaign, the worst ever in history. Cab driver Uncle Ferhat says, "They are lying.He said on live TV" we have to be impartial on the Palestine-Israel question". Now he is telling us "I did not say that." "

From his emphasis on the "bread" that connotates the WW2 war period to his attitude of holding the extreme, nationalist, leftist, Turkish journal high, which proved that he knows nothing about Turkey. The last blunder he made— not knowing the words of the national anthem – also proved he was so alien to the values of his father, who was one of the closest friends of Mehmet Akif Ersoy. As they say better the devil you know! Ihsanoglu"s blunder even made those of Kiliçdaroglu seem more professional!

In other words, the freshman errors of the roof candidate did not even force Erdogan to follow any policy concerning the election campaign. For example, in the Old Turkey, the legal framing of the resolution process would be left after elections or the large scale detentions like one to the parallel structure were left after the election. However this bilateral development, one promoting the peace, the other targeting on punishing the coup attempt, was a kind of local election promise that was turned into a sort of Erdogan"s referendum.

Surveys prove that – I am talking about those of the companies unlike Metropol as though it tied up a rug in Gezi and which tries to operate the perception by claiming "the authority"s vote percentage decreased to 35 percent" – and the percentage of accuracy is close to kissing the ground - Erdogan"s support is above 55 percent. Even according to the survey by Gallup World Poll located in Washington D.C., the support for Erdogan is above 59 percent. Turks happy with Erdogan stand at 60 percent, while Kurds around 67 percent and in the rural the support for Erdogan is 68 percent while in the urban it"s 56percent.

According to this, the public support for Erdogan is even above AK Party. In a war engaged against himself, while some AK Party left Erdogan almost alone to fight back by himself, the people chose the balance. The increase of such credibility with its reflection first time in a presidential election signals the concrete public demand for the presidential system and Erdogan as the president.

Therefore the question "who is going to the be the Prime Minister" is not really important, unlike it is thought so. It will be a credible person who is going to lead the AK Party to the snap elections but most imporantly to the constitutional referandum.

The unsuccessful governments fade out, but what about the unsuccessful oppositions? In case Erdogan will be the president, what is going to happen to MHP and CHP, who will have failed for two elections consecutively?

Can they simply get rid of the failure by changing their leaders, or will they become marginalized and leave their places to brand new parties? This is the question that incites my curiousity most. Because the New Turkey"s most important need will be a new opposition which will be distant from a statusquo, secterian, racist discourse and which fits the new Turkey with its constructive and active manner.