Who’s Afraid of Turkey’s Opposition?
The genuine fear in Turkey is that the Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) now stands as an impediment to formation of a credible alternative on the left.
A recent political scandal in Brussels has demonstrated that Turkey’s domestic tensions have now spilled overseas, raising internationally the questions asked daily by Turks eager for an alternative to the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The scandal unfolded when the leader of the Kemalist Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, went to Brussels to meet with Hannes Swoboda, the head of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second largest group in the European Parliament.
At a press briefing ahead of the meeting, Kilicdaroglu compared Turkey’s premier to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad when commenting on the terrorist attack in Reyhanli. “Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the murderer of the 51 victims in Reyhanli,” he said. Swoboda reacted harshly and requested a “correction.” When Kilicdaroglu failed to meet the request, the Austrian politician refused to meet him, turning away the CHP leader from the door.
“I asked him to clarify that he did not mean to make a direct comparison. We agreed on that. But then one of his advisers said they could not issue that statement. I responded that in this case we have nothing to talk about,” Swoboda said.
