On Sunday, my column for Sabah focused on rumors that big business representatives and a number of senior politicians from Turkey had met with various U.S. government officials, including Ambassador John Bass, to discuss their plans regarding the formation of a new political party. Noting that the opposition's hopes about the AK Party government's demise over corruption allegations had been spoiled by yet another landslide victory for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's party in the March 30 local elections, the piece argued that lobbying efforts in Washington marked a new stage in the country's ongoing power struggle. The long list of alleged participants in the opposition's latest efforts included business magnate Sani Şener, who currently serves as CEO of TAV Airports, as well as Hamdi Akın, the chairman of the company's executive board. The initiative, which also enjoys support from politicians such as Mustafa Sarıgül, Mansur Yavaş, Meral Akşener and Yılmaz Büyükerşen as well as Brookings Institute VP and former Cabinet Minister Kemal Derviş, represented an effort to bridge the gap between the left-leaning Republican People's Party (CHP) and the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to appeal to younger voters. In this sense, the piece, which repeatedly referred to rumors as opposed to actual events, offered valuable insights into the country's opposition ranks.
In a written response to my piece, TAV CEO Sani Şener confirmed that he had indeed travelled to Washington in an effort to promote his company's joint bid with Goldman Sachs for rights to operate and reconstruct La Guardia Airport in New York. "The primary purpose of the trip was to inform [counterparts about] the Turkish economy's development as well as TAV's progress as part of our lobbying efforts for the La Guardia tender. We are well aware that we cannot promote our bid without talking about our country. The trip was a success. I will not go into the political matters to which you linked [this trip] as they do not fall within my interests."
Others, however, were less than courteous in their criticism. Hamdi Akın, with whom I have travelled abroad in previous years, called my personal phone number to deny allegations about his links to a new political party and proceeded to accuse me of authoring the piece pursuant to the following orders from the owners. "It is obvious why they would have you write this," Akın lashed out. After telling him that I would not be spoken to in such a manner, I explained that he had no right to slander a journalist. After all, there is never a shortage of rumors in backroom politics, which occasionally include manipulative and inaccurate information. My sources, however, have proven trustworthy time and again.
A specific example was the CHP's nomination of Mustafa Sarıgül and Mansur Yavaş, two politicians who had just joined the party, in key mayoral races in Istanbul and Ankara as part of a broader coalition between the main opposition party as well as the MHP and the Gülen Movement. Despite protests by the very circles that orchestrated the campaign efforts at the time, the course of events proved my pieces right. As such, one expects meaningful criticism as opposed to verbal attacks, largely to no avail as individuals who gracefully protect pro-opposition headlines threatening to "spit on the Prime Minister's grave" under press freedoms seem to have such short tempers.
Another unfortunate reaction to my piece came from MHP Deputy Chairman Celal Adan, who complained that "certain news outlets have launched a campaign to derail MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli's sincere efforts regarding the presidential election...in an attempt to score some points for the ruling party which finds itself cornered and out of the people's good graces." The statement by Adan, who accused me of lying, ironically bends the truth by arguing that a column piece about political rumors comes to the rescue of the AK Party whose popularity has yet again been demonstrated with a landslide victory in the local elections. What, if not such accusations, could better summarize why the opposition has no glimpse of hope against the ruling party even after 12 years?
Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.