“There is no longer an AKP, just Erdoğan”

Felicity Party General Chair and presidential candidate Temel Karamollaoğlu said of the AKP, “Those who separated from us continue in their politics as if to prove that they have no remaining connection with us, and persist in doing so today. Even if they say, ‘We will put on the National View shirt,’ I have never seen sincerity in their politics. Karamollaoğlu came together with our Ankara Representative Erdem Gül, our columnist Kemal Can and our parliamentary office supervisor Emine Kaplan. Karamollaoğlu replied as follows to our questions:

 They have no remaining connection with our tradition: Those who separated from us continue in their politics as if to prove that they have no remaining connection with us and persist in doing so today. Even if they occasionally say, “We will put on the National View shirt,” I have never seen sincerity in their politics. I see the sorting out of the headscarf issue to be an important matter. But, apart from headscarves, it is a mystery as to what other of our issues are being sorted out. None of Turkey’s most important strategic problems, neither the economy, nor education, nor foreign policy, are being sorted out. I mean, you could well say that they have no remaining connection with our tradition.

Justice is justice: We must maintain the supremacy of the law. Our saying that a person of faith should not be oppressed does not mean that a person of no faith should be oppressed. Justice is justice. There appears to be an authoritarian approach. These friends endeavour to shield behind this. An authoritarian approach is for stability. It does not mean that different ideas cannot be discussed. If you shelve the law as with the state of emergency and say, “I will decide and everyone must abide by this decision,” then this is tyranny. My concerns are Turkey’s concerns. Freedom of faith and maintaining the supremacy of justice and the law form part of this. Both the economy and foreign policy do so, as does press freedom. This is a whole.

Waiter approach to the state: (The distinction between the waiter state and warder state) Unfortunately, our friends, may God preserve them, appear to have given prominence to the warder side especially after having declared the state of emergency. The waiter state was the state that was stressed while contesting the 1995 elections. We must not view the state with a despotic, oppressive logic that you will without fail think what I think. The state has to serve. Regardless of which area you take, whether the economic area or health or education, the waiter approach to the state is important.

 Consenting to injustice: (The AKP’s alliance proposal) Our issue was with the harmonisation laws. But, while standing up, he said how about if there were something like this. I said that a serious proposal had not been made because it was made while rushing away. Then Şentop came. We passed on our views about the Turkey and about the world. I said that for us to really combine under these conditions would amount to consenting to all the injustice.

 He harmed himself by saying “double dealer”: He harmed himself by saying the presidency was a done deal and the AK Party should have the majority in parliament and by saying “double dealer.” I mean, in fact, Mr Erdoğan was really troubled by that initiative. He is concerned now. He is not at ease just now. Over the presidency. As to members of parliament, a different picture will actually emerge.

 They have lost the plot

 I am not hopeful about the AKP: A parliament that does not think like the president will seriously influence the public. The AK Party could embark on a process of breaking up. I am not of the opinion that the AK Party will stay in existence for long after that. It will be like ANAP. It will dissipate more quickly perhaps. There is no such thing as the AK Party in Turkey, there is Tayyip Erdoğan. When he is absent, when his effect disappears, there remains no AK Party entity in place. The AK Party is an institution that stays on its feet through relations of interest. Can a party that has been in power for fifteen years complain about itself? We are puzzled by the friends’ approaches to everything. If the consultation mechanism breaks down somewhere, there can be no correction. A large body of the people included among them are our friends. Not least Tayyip Erdoğan. They have really lost the plot. There appears no chance of correction; they do not even signal this. They did not set out with a firm footing. There is a crowd that says, “The state is me.” This crowd made a mistake. And he also made good use of saying, “I am a victim.” Now, such great means have become available to them that they are doing the victimising from here on. They are making use of the power and means at their disposal and are victimising others.

 The HDP will surmount the threshold

 The South East may produce a surprise: Despite this, the HDP has gravity. I am not of the opinion that people endorse everything about the HDP. But, they vote for the HDP because they are in a search of identity. We see a serious possibility for change in the region. The South East may produce a surprise in this election. The AK Party is not strong in that region. It appears that the HDP will surmount the threshold. If the people of the region could be presented with a serious alternative, and I am of the view that we can present that alternative – but it is not easy.

 If there is no change, we will enter a calamitous period: I see the probability of it going to a second round as being ninety per cent. Going through to the second round is the most serious risk for him. Turkey is in need of change. If there is no change, if you look at Mr Erdoğan’s temperament as it is now, I do not think that the appropriate decisions can be taken, either. I consider that we will enter a very calamitous period. It is not a question of who it will be. Whoever is elected will rule on their own and whatever they say will go. If there are fewer than 400 MPs in parliament preventative resolutions will not be very effective.

 The media acts as if we did not exist

 (Is there duress on voters?) For one thing, there is a media embargo. If the pool media finds the opportunity to cast aspersions, it does so. But, sometimes they even decline to do that. They act as if we did not exist. Secondly, problems emerge with hiring certain venues. Ones owned by municipalities or the state. An obstacle arises here. People have been threatened in some places. We were expecting 350,000 to 500,000 signatures. But Bahçeli came out and said they needed to inspect them. It is certain that bias will be shown towards us at rallies.

 Anti-authoritarianism finds favour

 Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West has had no concerns over justice and social sharing. The situation with regard to the income of working people is high compared to the East. There is no group that is condemned to the borders of starvation. But, they have the idea that they are entitled to exploit others. They are not averse to occupying countries, either. When you go to the East, you do not see oppression in either Russia or China. Freedom has come about there, too, and speedy development has ensued in social sharing, too. We have courted interest from left-wing circles because our rhetoric is opposed to capitalism and serves to provide an answer to the quest for social justice. It finds favour by way of anti-authoritarian perception. It also has its origins somewhat in trends among the young. The concepts of left and right are vanishing in the world. A notion along the lines of authoritarian regimes and non-authoritarian regimes is coming in.

 Altan Tan is a candidate

 There has long been talk of the HDP’s Altan Tan being fielded on Felicity Party lists. To the question of whether there would be surprise names on the lists, Karamollaoğlu replied, “There may be one or two surprise names on the lists. Things are hard for us. The people will both conform to us and attract a bit of public attention. And, with reference to Tan, Karamollaoğlu said, “He will probably be a candidate. In our old times he served as member of the general administrative committee.”

 'Artık AKP yok Erdoğan var'