“When it comes to homeland, nation and state, we don’t have any difference of opinion or rift with Mr. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli said on Tuesday.
He was responding to rumors of a rift within the People’s Alliance MHP formed with Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
The MHP leader affirmed deep and selfless relations with President Erdoğan as he addressed lawmakers of his party at the parliament in the capital Ankara. “Those seeking to incite strife attempt to question, undermine our moral, sincere and friendly relations. People’s Alliance has a passion for the good of the nation and homeland even those ill-intended people seeking to sow seeds of strife can comprehend,” he said.
Bahçeli is known for his frank calls to the government in the past on several issues, such as the closure of a political party linked to the terrorist group PKK. The alleged rift was attributed to Bahçeli’s unprecedented call for the temporary release of PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan on the condition that he’d appeal to fellow members of the group to lay down arms. “Terror-free initiative” as Erdoğan called was hailed by the president who defined the call as a historic window of opportunity to end terrorism that plagued the country for decades.
Erdoğan received Bahçeli at the Presidential Complex earlier this month and told AK Party members that their meeting was a testament to the bonds between the two parties, according to the media outlets.
Anti-government media claimed that Erdoğan was reluctant to endorse Bahçeli’s call.
Last Friday, one day after receiving Bahçeli, Erdoğan addressed the executive committee of his party in a rescheduled meeting, apparently to demonstrate loyalty to the People’s Alliance. Erdoğan told party members that they had an absolute agreement with “Mr. Devlet.”
The People’s Alliance was formally formed in 2018 with the MHP throwing full support behind the AK Party, especially in counterterrorism efforts. Smaller parties also joined the alliance, especially at times of elections, but the MHP remained a stalwart member.
Bahçeli on Tuesday said the People’s Alliance was the guardian of independence and architect of the future. “It is the sole defender of 'Century of Türkiye' and Turks,” he said, referring to the government’s vision to elevate Türkiye’s place in the international community a century after the foundation of the Republic of Türkiye. “Our alliance is not short-term like others,” Bahçeli said in a veiled reference to the six-party opposition bloc founded to unseat Erdoğan in the 2023 general elections. The said bloc, which included a party established by former MHP members, lost to Erdoğan and largely went on their own way after the election loss, including during the March 31 municipal elections.
Rumors of a rift were further stoked with cryptic social media tweets by MHP which read “The time is now, it is about the homeland.” Bahçeli said those questioning the posts “should start with learning more about how to stand for the homeland.”
On his call to Öcalan, Bahçeli said they would continue their unity against terrorism. The nationalist leader said the PKK was not a representative of “our Kurdish brothers and sisters.” The terrorist group claims to fight for a self-styled Kurdish administration and rights.
