As the Yeni Şafak team, we were invited by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu as guests to watch his election rallies in Hatay and Mersin. We attended both rallies and had the chance to speak with people, and we also had a genuine talk with PM Davutoğlu on our way back.
By the way, let me tell you this; as much as it is important for politicians to communicate with masses, and touch ordinary people's hearts and minds, in the same way journalists also have such responsibility. For a long time, a type of journalism which neglects field work, regulates people's perception from the center, and fabricates projects and serves them to people as real has arisen.
You've probably noticed that contrary to previous years, the journalists and televisions companies in Turkey are not paying any attention to fieldwork, as Turkey is going through a vibrant period of election campaigns for the June 7 general elections. I don't know if it's because of laziness, inertia, or the fact that journalists have lost the sense of responsibility to a large extent, or because our understanding of the media has changed, but it is evident that this truth brings serious shallowness and lack of quality to the media.
As Yeni Şafak and TVNET, we are trying to break this. Our reporters spend each day with a candidate under the name of a program called “11 hours". We start our day with a candidate, follow their campaigns throughout the day, watch their communication with the people and share these observations with you. The busses we have prepared for Yeni Şafak and TVNET have started traveling around each province in Anatolia. Our journalists will survey the electorates –where in some regions they will be accompanied by our columnists- and present their findings to you.
The Prime Minister's rallies have been going pretty well since the Erzurum rally. They get more crowded with each passing day, as the dose of excitement soars. This was the case in Hatay too. I must say that I was quite impressed with the Mersin rally. The Şanlıurfa rally, which took place yesterday, also accorded with this truth. I assume the enthusiasm and participation will increase even more in the upcoming rallies. I have personally seen the fact that the assumptions implying “there is a sense of inertia" in the meetings is not realistic at all, and I am of the opinion that some want to especially spread such conviction.
As you will see in the public opinion poll we published today, the AK Party's votes are increasing with each passing day. According to analyses of public opinion polls, this rise will increase even more, closer to the election day. The AK Party's all-encompassing and embracing rhetoric, the electorate's pursuit for stability and the other parties which are stuck in a corner all nurture this rise.
The Prime Minister's communication with masses has successfully achieved enthusiasm. You get a sense of this from his relation with the crowds and reciprocal communication. We will see that these warm relations and the mutual bond will be even more consolidated, and those sincere expressions will become stronger.
Our talk on the plane has revealed that the Prime Minister's deep political wisdom is adjusted for giving messages well beyond the election campaign. In reality, this was always the case. Davutoğlu's words are always filled with messages directed towards the Turkey of the future, and the construction of a common, strong and prosperous country.
He made an analysis of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) anti-religious rhetoric. He explained the process in which the HDP became more like the Republican People's Party (CHP). He pointed to the idea that both parties are using a sort of masked political rhetoric, and the irresponsibility behind this. He stated that the HDP supporters use a dual language and act based on a marginal terminology, and that their rhetoric is not intended towards conservative Kurds, but rather more secularist circles.
“We see religion as the basis of the nation, but in the back of their minds they have the idea that a national identity cannot be based on religious foundations. It is because of this contrast that they both communicate two separate types of political rhetoric. The same is true for the CHP. The one-party CHP also used to believe that the 'obstacle of religion' must be overcome to create a national identity," Davutoğlu said.
The Prime Minister's warnings regarding the issue of religion and ethnic-based political rhetoric are quite important in my opinion. Under this framework, the HDP and the CHP both believe that they are only carrying out a political setup over the Alevis under this framework and that this is a matter of exploitation. By attacking Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and making people hoot at it, he claimed they try to impress anti-religious and marginal circles and some other identities. In reality, their behavior benefits the AK Party in terms of vote calculations, but he prefers to warn them about this danger.
Because, the CHP's and HDP's yearning for Alevi votes in their election campaigns may result in a decrease in the votes for both parties in the upcoming days. The HDP's negative and distracting rhetoric about Islam and religion, and its resemblance of the CHP, and the typical Ba'athist rhetoric of both parties while addressing masses may disturb the conservative Kurdish base and these votes may get transferred to the AK Party. Through a pragmatic perspective, this works in favor of the AK Party; but in the long run, it poses a serious threat for Turkey's societal fabric.
Is it possible for the HDP and Selahattin Demirtaş, the co-chair of the party, to make people forget about their terrorist connections, antagonist stance regarding religious values, and how they do not do anything without informing the PKK militants in Qandil Mountains? And…how they gave in to Ba'athist rhetoric from ethnic nationalism while they were going after becoming a part of Turkey? And, how the electorate was threatened by weapons, and how those who opposed them were killed, and that menacing messages were sent to mayors in the region?
The attempts by some media outlets to hide these and make people forget about them, and their efforts to make a star out of Demirtaş is only a project and this project can no longer be concealed.
I saw that Prime Minister Davutoğlu was quite blissful. He is pleased about the state of affairs. He is strongly satisfied that things will only get better. He is watching the vote rates rise, and estimates that their results will be around 47-48 percent. “I observe the performance of our opponents and see that no one is carrying out such an extensive campaign. I have no concerns about June 7. I have full trust in the insight and prudence of the nation, and the dynamism of AK Party cadres. We will see how much more the opposition will get done on that day," he says.
I've come to the conclusion that Davutoğlu is rather realistic, cool and very confident despite the heated atmosphere of the election campaigns.
