CHP (REPUBLICAN PEOPLE’S PARTY) WHERE TO GO?
JULY 9, 2004
By Alper ASLANDAŞ
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has always been a basic political element of the modernization and democratization process of the Republic that was founded in 1923.

Reforms towards a new state and society model, representative elections, multi-party political life, coalition parties, military coup-d’états, ideological camps which turned into armed conflicts, armed Kurdish rebellions, major roles in international organizations established against communism, intervention to Cyprus, financial aids and debts in the economic field causing dependency on the external world and finally the application for the full-membership to the European Union are the significant stages of this process.

Having worked as the political organ the War of the Independence, the identification of the Republican People’s Party with the State, has been the most important factor directing its political track.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, was also the founder and the first chairman of the political party, CHP.

The “6 arrows” which is the emblem of the Party symbolize at the same time the constitutional principles of the State of the Republic of Turkey.

The Party was unchangeably in the power, in an integrated way with the State, during the single party period lasted until 1946.

Until today, the traces in the memory of the society left by the implementations deriving from the single-party system and special conditions of the period, have constituted the most important obstacle against the integration of the modestly living conservative part of the society with the CHP.

After the Second World War, because of the global seeking for democratic regimes, more than 50% of the electors voted for the Democratic Party in the first important election of the multi-party period, held in 1950.

This historical moment started the self-renovation of the CHP and its efforts for the integration with people. This self-renovation and the efforts have not been resulted successfully yet.

Social circles that had not adopted the principles and implementations of the Republic and the Party (land-owners, neo-bourgeoisie, intellectuals who want more freedom and the poor) supported the Democratic Party.

As it would be seen in the coming years of the Turkish political life, the power struggle between the Democratic Party and the Republican People’s Party turned into a struggle of regime. The new economic and political choices of the Democratic Party that founded the Government, created a new identity for itself which seems to be in opposition with the regime. The Party in the power was in fact the opposition one. The real power, although it was not seen in the constitutional platform, was belonging to the armed forces.

The Democratic Party, because of this anti-regime assessment, was sealed as the government that had lost its legitimacy and its abolition with a military coup (27 May 1960) had been considered as legitimate.

This period had strengthened the thesis that the CHP and the army were acting together as it was the case during the single-party period. This concept was formulized as the CHP+Army=Government. “To be the Party of the State” has always been the basic criticism against the CHP. One of the causes of this problem is the military identity of Atatürk and İsmet İnönü, the first and the second chairman of the CHP respectively.

The period where the historical characters were more dominant than the political identities had also impeded the development of intra-party democracy. Strong leadership (one-man system) has become a permanent tradition for the CHP.

To be in the opposition and to come to the government by means of coalition obliged the Party to define its ideological location in the political spectrum.

The definition of the Party by İnönü as “in the left-wing of the center”, placed the Party in the “left”. The rightist parties on the other hand, accused them with a slogan “ The left of the center is the way going to Moscow”.

Bipolar world and widening anti-communist wing (communism threat) made the rapprochement of the CHP with the conservative part of the society that put their strong religious beliefs in the first plan, more difficult.

To gain political power, the rightist political actions (centered-nationalist-fundamentalist) targeted the religious feelings and religious and ethnic differences of the society in their policies and propaganda.

This caused the CHP to be taken far away from the other circles of the society as it is naturally composed of different religious and ethnic structures (Shia and Kurds).

The most historical turning point in the renovation efforts of the CHP was the chairmanship of young Bülent Ecevit, supporter of change, after İsmet İnönü.

Change in the leadership and understanding let the Party to be a “hope”. In this period, the Party succeeded to meet with the social opposition with the impacts of the socialist and revolutionist youth and workers’ movements rising both in the Turkey and in the world.

In the years 70’s, the Social Democratic and Democratic Leftist identities of the CHP became rooted and met with the universal values of the left.

The Republican People’s Party, with this qualification, succeeded to be the first party, to establish governments though for short terms and to nominate a Prime-Minister. Nevertheless, it was unsuccessful in realizing projects in consistent with its program and in increasing the level of prosperity of the poor, in realizing freedom and equality and in preventing unemployment, cost of living and armed actions that slowly turned to be a civil war.

With the rise of the votes of the CHP, the rightist parties came together as a “front” in order to prevent the leftist government. During the two “Nationalist Front Governments”, small and marginal parties got great shares from the governing party. (21 July 1977-31 March 1979).

The Republican People’s Party, at the end of the 70’s, transferred 11 parliamentarians from the rightist parties and established a government which lasted only for 21 months.

In the new period that started with the military coup d’état on 12 September 1980, the division of the left and the seeking for the leadership had been the two important events.

With the shut-down of the parties by the military administration and the ban over the leaders and party administrators, the party that will replace the CHP and its members constituted a problem in the agenda.

Finally, three leftist parties were established. The Populist Party (HP) under the control of the military, the Democratic Left Party (DSP) established by Ecevit under the control of his wife by dissolving the groups in the CHP, and the Social Democratic Party founded by Prof. Erdal İnönü, son of İsmet İnönü, with the members coming from the CHP’s tradition.

The years 80’s passed with inter-party and intra-party struggles for power. The unification of the HP and SODEP under the name of SHP and the unification of the CHP and the SHP under the roof of the CHP did not solve this problem.

During the single party government of the Motherland Party, the leftist parties got confused because of the implementations reflecting the effects of the military regime, religion oriented implementations (headscarf problem entered into the political agenda at that period), armed Kurdish rebellion started in 1984 and liberalization policies in the economic field.

Although new developments have been occurred in the fields of economy and politics. The left was busy with her domestic issues could not produce new policies providing support of the public.

At the same time, those developments caused CHP to lose ties with her traditional electors. Kurds whose policies mostly depending on ethnic values abandoned the party.

Election alliance in 1991 between the Kurdish HEP and SHP caused the electors to react against PKK terror leave the party.

“To became Alevite and Kurdish Party” is the most popular criticism for the people to vote for SHP and CHP.

The main rupture of the traditional electors of the social democrats was the coalition government with DYP mostly took economic measures against the working section and did not pace any step in the way of democratization. The corruption claims in the municipalities won in the local elections of 1989 made “corruption” concept inactive, which was one of the main trumps of left against right. One of the popular right wing writers evaluated this situation as “left honor is dead” shows how important to lose of the left.

When CHP opened again in 1992 a new era started for the left. But, during this period unification and integration concepts argued. The unification of SHP and CHP in 1994 did not provide enough contribution to increase the votes of the party. The coalition established till the elections held (DYP-CHP) negatively effected CHP and her tested leader Mr.Deniz Baykal.

During the elections of 1995, Refah Party (Welfare Party) who defended religious ideas became the first and her leader Mr.Necmettin Erbakan prime minister concluded with a political crisis. Through the decision of the MGK (National Security Council) on 28th February, which was secret/covered interference-later called post-modern military coup-, Refah Party forced to leave the government. The tradition of removing of the political power, which has seen as a threat against the regime, through military coup, repeated.

During this process a criticism made against CHP that she behaved in the same way with army as in 1950s.

Although she did not want, public opinion reacted against CHP’s support of the government up on the insistence of the Army (This phenomenon points out severe anxiety of the political conscience of electors and their democratic culture.).

The capture of the terrorist leader of PKK in Kenya and his transfer to Turkey when the time for elections was very close, caused to blow of nationalistic winds. The election government’s prime minister Mr Ecevit’s party DSP and his partner MHP, the party on a nationalistic line, enormously increased their votes.

Those developments resulted in CHP’s not to take part in the parliament when her history considered. When CHP stayed out of the parliament, she starred again her in house arguments. Mr.Deniz Baykal became the leader of the party, which could not articulate new solutions. Mr.Baykal’s message of renovation dispatched to the different sectors of the society where party adopted.

Although it was late, the attitude of CHP against corruption has been understood.

However, all these happenings let the CHP became the second party after the elections. During the elections in 2003 AKP solely took the power and this has been proved that people still has hopes from the right wing.

As outlined historical and political process on the above lines, CHP’s still continuing the identity as a state founding party appears as the most prominent feature.

CHP cannot be successful in taking positive steps so as to decrease the tension in the society and dilemma, particularly, secularism, one of the features of the state and CHP’s “six arrows”. Almost, CHP displayed a parallel attitude with the Army –constant sensitivity- and Army’s relevant interference. They could not develop rhetoric against the right wing’s use of religious belief in their policies.

They could not produce political study models, which will eliminate depolitisation of 12th September coup. They could not reach to the ghettos created in the big cities by the people moved there because of poverty and terror reasons. Hey could not prevent those people thirsty for equality and justice and suffering from poverty affected from the various religious communities.

Because of she could not provide the support of her traditional base, she became the party of the modern sections giving conjuncture elector reflexes of the big cities.

In contrast with her historical and transformational and reformist essence to the party program of 1994, she displayed her position as undertook a mission to maintain the established order by the right wing.

It seems relatively hard for CHP, a party both weakening her traditional base and did not pay attention to those conservative part of the society and the people attaching great importance to those values constitute the majority of the society.

Her domestic political struggle and arguments with the other parties during the last 20 years created a negative effect in the various parts of the society and young electors.

Party perceived as an old and senior party by the young electors. Participation of the names mentioned in the books of history in the party administration and the priority of the party did not coincide with the young people’s life prevented them to support the party.

At first hand, party should conclude her domestic struggle; carry the young people to the administration, in this way structural transformation might be realized. Those positions should contain qualified, reliable and ethnically trustworthy names.

She has to give up oppositional understanding limited with daily political arguments and the agenda of the parliament, and bring her opposition energy to the main area will the help to organize social opposition and to meet people. Of course, in order to be successful, she has to develop solidarity and cooperation with the left opposition out of herself.

If CHP is not able to be successful in developing new ideas on rights, justice, freedom and equality, she can only take part of giving support to the fall of governments work against the regime. This can pat an end to a right wing government having religious priorities, but it never let her to be a powerful government. In this way, the alternative of AKP will be again from the right wing.

Not only the 80 years old history of CHP makes her strong, but creates hard barriers to pass. Those barriers will be overcome by means of the reformist steps to be taken by the appropriate qualified people.

Author: Alper Aslandaş is senior associate of EWS and currently working as legal adviser to Parliament Speaker of Turkey.