Addressing his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for exploiting a number of issues, from a debate on day care centers to the fate of unruly graduates of a military school. Erdoğan also voiced his support for the People’s Alliance the AK Party formed with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), especially in the fight against terrorism.

The AK Party and the CHP have been longtime rivals but experienced a thaw in relations following the March 31 municipal elections. Erdoğan, who held several talks with CHP’s new chair, Özgür Özel, who succeeded the president’s bitter rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, lashed out at Özel in his speech.

Erdoğan complained that the opposition always tried to stall their projects while doing nothing for the country.

After a lengthy criticism of Kılıçdaroğlu, who recently defended his insults against the Erdoğan governments in a trial, Erdoğan said the new CHP leader was no different than his predecessor. "Confluence of ignorance and arrogance are insufferable," Erdoğan said as he denounced the CHP over a debate on day care centers.

The opposition party claimed that the government sought to seize operations of day care centers run by CHP municipalities while the government denied it and said that the municipalities were simply reminded that day care centers could not be operated like nursery schools and ignore the current curriculum.

"This was something CHP itself defended," Erdoğan said, reiterating that the opposition party sought a verdict by the country’s top court against a regulation allowing municipalities to run nursery schools. "They don’t know the difference between a nursery school and a day care center. Türkiye is a state of law and you have to obey the laws while opening a school. You can’t violate rules. But they are seeking to exploit this matter for their political gains," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan also censured the CHP for its stance on the controversial video of a group of military graduates. Several graduates were photographed and captured on camera on the sidelines of a traditional oath-taking ceremony at a prestigious military school in August as they recited a discontinued oath. Their pose lifting swords and shouting a slogan associated with the CHP sparked a public debate. When the army launched disciplinary proceedings, the opposition parties rushed to back the graduates, claiming the government could not tolerate soldiers.

Erdoğan said discipline is held in high regard in the army and graduates were subject to an investigation for their behavior against the disciplinary rules of the army. "Who knows what those lieutenants might do in the future if they already disobey the orders of their commanders?" Erdoğan said, pointing out that the graduates were warned not to recite the discontinued oath before the ceremony but ignored the orders.

"We suffered from coups and coup attempts. You cannot create heroes out of those involved in behavior against disciplinary rules. Apparently, the CHP did not abandon involving the military in politics," he said in a thinly veiled reference to the party’s past siding with putschists, in both the 1960 to 1997 coups.

"The CHP’s ugly policies are exposed in every challenge Türkiye faced. I wonder if anyone had hope for himself, herself or the future of the country when he or she faced the current sorry state of the CHP. You cannot see a party that can advocate Türkiye’s national interests in the CHP. So, how did the CHP win so many votes?" Erdoğan said, in reference to municipal elections.

"This is because of us, the AK Party. This is self-criticism. We have to do soul-searching. Global challenges, coupled with our mistakes, forced millions of people to reluctantly vote for the CHP," he said.

Alliance with MHP

Erdoğan also touched upon the rumored rift in the People’s Alliance after the MHP leader’s unprecedented call to the jailed leader of the terrorist group PKK. Bahçeli has asked for the conditional release of Abdullah Öcalan in exchange for his speech at Parliament to call the PKK to lay down arms.

"This alliance overcame several challenges. The brave call of Mr. Bahçeli confused opponents of the alliance. We sincerely discuss many issues with (Bahçeli) and we are in full agreement on every issue for the interests of the country and nation. We endorse his call," Erdoğan said.

"We will tear down the wall of terrorism between Turks and Kurds and we will give future generations a country where politicians have no support from terrorists," he said.

Erdoğan said though the outlook on the matter was not inducing much hope for a change in the mindset of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is linked with PKK, he said they were still weighing their options. Erdoğan assured the public that their fight against terrorism would continue "to the last terrorist."

"We will not allow terrorist networks, whoever their backers are," he said.