We haven’t started discussing the context of the leadership system yet. We are only talking over principles at the moment. Roughly, a perspective, which is based on the public willpower, closed to guardianship, possesses balance-monitoring systems and will be shaped by the demands of the public, seems correct.
The “executive presidency”, which became the center of the “macro politics” as the public preferred it, is the bright result of our democracy struggle and the system arguments that will be made won’t fall behind this “perception”.
In brief, the system, which will become evident, will (should) be an idiosyncratic local agreement, which will sort out the guardianship mechanisms that are produced in the same period, and be suitable to our history, needs and conditions while including positive democratic regulations in our centenary past.
This is, of course, a Turkey-type model. At this point, we can be inspired from countries like France and the US; however, we cannot copy them identically. If we did, that would be equal to the engineering done by Kemalists and supporters of the reform period.
Since the President and Prime Minister had already stated this, and since the constitution, which will include a system change, will be presented to the referendum based on the demands gathered from the community, there is no justification for discrediting the “Turkish-type Presidential System”. In this country, it seems that feeling antipathy towards what’s local had become a habit. We owe this to the internalized West complex and to looking down on the local one (the public) doubtfully.
Yesterday, Mr. Ali Bayramoğlu was felicitously drawing attention to the error of advancing the system argument over Erdoğan. While stating, “What’s being argued is actually the person, who is desired to be the president or being objected to in the same manner,” he was extremely right in the sense of the opposing party. However, as he combined the conservative segment and nationalist segment, it gave birth to some critical errors. This situation shows us that it’s necessary for us to ponder over political processes even more.
According to this categorical evaluation, all the political and communal segments are uniting at the common denominator, the individual cult, and the communal pluralist demands are being standardized based on the leader cult, and this chokes the communal one. When observed from this point, righteously, it’s inevitable that this process will reach to authoritativeness and become worse with every kind of option.
Bayramoğlu reveals this danger at this point;
“In the conservative segment, the “communal” one has been imprisoned within “politics” and the politics is indexed on political actors and individuals.
This situation started to push the opportunity of the social and cultural differences, within the conservative segment, to influence politics aside. It’s clear that the shaping of the politics in the center and the “political attitude”, which is produced there, becoming a single and main ownership criterion in the conservative segment, are exercising a standardizing control over this segment, and almost, a rulership control.”
First of all, we should see that the power intensification, which is accumulated over Erdoğan, is not formed by the voter base’s pursuit of the leader with insensible, sentimental or manipulative reasons, but rather it sits on a steady rationality. What makes Erdoğan different/strong is his ORGANIC leadership. This organic leadership is a special situation, which has been formed after Erdoğan walked together with his base for 40 years and reflected their demands on politics. Erdoğan’s story is an essential part of the base’s story. At the same rate he placed the demands of the base, Erdoğan gained an organic leadership feature and this character is democratic till the end.
A contrary admission is equal to explaining all the democratic moves, which had been experienced in the 40-year-long walk, the 1994 elections and the past 12 years, with the “Erdoğan Cult”. Since this will be meaningless, “at one point” it would be claimed that the situation evolved into the authoritative from the pluralist. In other words, the AK Party base will suddenly drop their pluralist/rational attitude and become a crowd that will be activated with the finger snap of the leader. In that case, Erdoğan would be suddenly turning to his secret agenda from the democratic relation he established with his base.
The presidential system is a proposal, which proves that the relation established between his base and Erdoğan is a democratic one. If Erdoğan built an authoritative administration that is limited with his life, then he could’ve at least guaranteed 15 years by leaving a depository in his place in the present system.
However, this deviation is not possible due to two reasons.
The first one is; the fact that the AK Party base had made a conditional agreement with their leader. This condition is the fulfillment of the political/economic demands of the base and the democratization of the state. Erdoğan’s organic leadership is valid as long as he implements the demands of the community. In brief, Erdoğan has no option to pursue an individual agenda.
As for the second one; Erdoğan wants to hand over the power intensification/public willpower, which has been accumulated over him, to a permanent system. This is the essence of the presidential system demand. Such that, the reforms are not limited with Erdoğan’s political life, and under favor of this intensification a permanent administration model, which is closed to the guardianship, can be established. It would be accepted that no enthusiast with authoritativeness would desire to hand over the power vested in himself to a collective system. Besides, this system also increases the risk of losing the rulership after the opposition party forms an alliance over a single presidential candidate.
In the individual/institution dichotomy formed by Bayramoğlu, this implies that Erdoğan had started a brave “transfer” period in the direction of the democracy’s institutionalization.
In other words, there is no reason to be anxious. Everything is advancing in its natural process.
