“We will vote for the alliance but not Erdoğan”

The MHP congress has brought to light a totally unknown trend within the party in terms of the alliance with the AKP. The congress has enabled a picture to be formed of a group of MHP voters who are going to vote for their own party in the alliance with the AKP but not for Tayyip Erdoğan as presidential candidate.

 The MHP congress was overshadowed as it convened by the tension caused by MHP Manisa Metropolitan Municipal Mayor Cengiz Ergün’s comment, “There is an alliance at the top but not at the base.” Underlying all previous interpretations was the defection the alliance was expected to cause on the AKP wing. Expectation of defection in the MHP had not until now been spoken about so starkly, because opponents in the party of the alliance with the AKP had left the party along with Meral Akşener and set up their own party. Following this exodus, the MHP turned into a homogenous party and evolved into a structure in which the top and base acted in unison and identically. The top’s decision to vote for Erdoğan would come as an order for the base. There could not even be a single defector in the MHP.

 Alarming for the AKP, too

 However, the abrupt base-top argument has begun to find expression in terms that will cause disquiet to those in the AKP. Devlet Bahçeli, also being aware of this, felt the need to say, “We reject out of hand comments that there is no alliance in the base because we have no base, we have fellows in the cause” desirous of stifling from the outset this debate that might also alarm the AKP.

 It started with Erdoğan, but...

 In the endeavour not to instil the AKP with doubt, the congress essentially started with images that would inspire the partner with trust. After the congress presiding board had been elected, incoming messages were read by way of the first item. Presiding board chair Semih Yalçın, saying, “Among these messages, one of them is important,” read the message coming from President Erdoğan. Consequently, the congress started with Erdoğan's message. The message from Erdoğan, the MHP’s official presidential candidate, drew an average level of applause from the auditorium that could neither be described as greatly enthusiastic nor greatly subdued. The announcement that they would support Erdoğan’s candidacy close to the end of Bahçeli's speech received a reception of a similar tone from the auditorium.

 We will vote for our own party

 It did not take long to strike home that the attitude of the MHP crowd in the auditorium towards Erdoğan provided a pointer to a trend among party people. Moreover, this was a pointer to a trend which has existed for some time but mention of which in all but hushed tones has not been permitted and which has been kept a virtual secret. This trend has been described by some MHP people in the terms, “Plenty is written about some AKP people not voting in the election due to our alliance. But the same situation prevails in our party.” Many party people coming from outside Ankara to whom I spoke outside the auditorium had the following to say about this trend, which they confirmed:

 “The MHP is a half-century-old movement. It must absolutely be in parliament in the face of the attacks the state and people are undergoing. All plans have in fact been made for a long time to exclude the MHP from parliament. It is now certain that the MHP will not be excluded from parliament under the presidential alliance. So, the basic duty of us MHP people is to go to the polls so that our party gains representation through more members of parliament. We will go to the polls and vote for our party in the alliance. This is our basic duty. But, the presidential election is not of such great priority for us. We will vote for our own party in the alliance. The presidential candidate is not important. There is no MHP candidate in any case.”

 Need for persuasion

 There is talk of the trend within the MHP that says “We will vote for our own party but not for the presidential candidate” being widespread enough to merit consideration. It is also a fact that the MHP administration is aware of this. The thinking thus is that a tricky process is in the offing for both the AKP and MHP administrations involving things like finding methods to persuade voters who remain aloof towards Erdoğan by the time of the election.

 http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/siyaset/944817/_ittifaka_oy_veririz_ama_Erdogan_a_vermeyiz_.html