BREAKING: Erdogan ally Bahceli threatens to quit the alliance in strongest warning to Erdogan
akp-mhp
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ally, right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on June 12 stated that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) should form an alliance, expressing the clearest warning to Erdogan to date that his party remains opposed to contact between AKP and CHP. AKP quarters immediately assured the nation that Erdogan’s party remains committed to the Republican Alliance, but it is without doubt that Bahceli now believes Erdogan is scheming to perjure his party and is looking for alternatives.
Will Bahceli end his long-standing coalition with Erdogan? Journalist /columnist Gokcer Tahincioglu provides some answers.
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According to Duvar English in a late Wednesday X (formerly Twitter) statement, Bahçeli said, “It is the sincere wish of the MHP that a broad-based alliance between the AKP and the CHP be formed;
with the support of the other elements of the Table of Six”, referring to the six party coalition that lost May 2023 general and presidential elections against the AKP-MHP lead coalition of parties.
The statement came one day after President and AKP leader Erdoğan visited the CHP headquarters and also met with Ayşe Ateş, the wife of the former Grey Wolves head Sinan Ateş who was assassinated in 2022.
Bahçeli said a new equation with many unknowns is being constructed under the guise of “normalization and détente” between political parties following the March 31st local elections, championed by Erdogan and CHP leader Ozel.
After the AKP’s defeat in the election, Erdoğan called for a “normalization” period in the politics, which mainly means dialogue and consensual decision-making rather than bitter competition.
“The MHP will certainly not have the slightest discomfort in evaluating such dialogues as reasonable and logical, as long as they are in good faith, constructive, and in favor of the nation and the country. There is never a good end to polarization and fighting. However, it is beyond any kind of explanation that the traffic of contacts and negotiations, which is at the top of the national agenda, has turned into a smear campaign targeting the MHP,” Bahçeli said.
Bahçeli said some people claim that MHP is against normalization. “The widespread perjury of the Nationalist Movement's reputation through a murder case for which an indictment is being prepared is not a quest for justice, but an attempt to poison domestic peace,” he said, referring to the Sinan Ateş case.
“The MHP will definitely be present at the hearing of the aforementioned case to be held on July 1, 2024, and will settle accounts with the plotters of dark schemes before the Turkish judiciary,” he added.
Regarding the rumors of the cracks in the alliance between the AKP and MHP, Bahçeli said, “If the MHP is described as a barrier to the progress of normalization, our responsibility is to risk all kinds of sacrifices for the sake of our country and our nation, and to do what is necessary with peace of mind.
It is the sincere wish of the MHP that a broad-based alliance between the AKP and the CHP is formed with the support of the other elements of the Table of Six, as advocated by the dissatisfied factions within the AKP.”
“Having said this, our commitment to the Republican Alliance will continue with determination, and our support for the administration’s legislative proposals in the Turkish Grand National Assembly will continue. Moreover, it is not possible for us to back down from its principles and goals,” he added.
Bahçeli lastly noted that they would “stand by and behind our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan until the end.” “We respect Mr. President's meetings, the new relations he is establishing and the bilateral contacts he has made. We once again take the initiative to free him (from our alliance) in order to make him more comfortable.
