Erdogan...few slogans and many achievements

When I read in yesterday morning’s news that the Justice and Development Party in Turkey won the local elections, I said it was a different morning; not because it brought us the victory of a party worthy of winning, but because today disappointment will plague the scoundrels, fascists, tyrants, and the morally, psychologically and politically deviant, as well as everyone who was counting on a mirage and instead stepped in to the heat of the desert.

Perhaps talking about Erdogan and his party’s successive achievements over the past 10 years is no longer an issue that needs to be evidenced and proven. It is however important in order to prove their role in dealing with the various crises that they have encountered recently yet they waited to reap the historical result in the elections.

Erdogan continued to reassure his supporters in his speeches saying the ballot boxes would surprise his opponents and bring them losses and disappointment after the series of traps they tried to put in his way.

Erdogan was not counting on oppression or his charisma for this, instead, he counted on his successful legacy and his belief that his party’s great achievements will be enough to defend his position because these achievements are tangible and experienced, not merely slogans or empty promises.

I am not one to call for applying the entire Justice and Development Party’s experience in other arenas without being aware of the differences and specifications of each arena, but I do believe that the man and his party’s pioneering spirit deserve to be studied at length, especially since some of those impressed by the experience are only attracted by the outside shell, or the marginal aspects of the experience that were not the focal point of the advancement, progress and achievements.

Erdogan and his party deserve to win the people’s confidence once again. Our different experiences deserve an evaluation that examines the issues of feasibility and achievement. As for our leaders, they need less slogans and promises and need to recognise the need to let one’s actions speak for themselves and thwart conspiracies against them.

Erdogan’s continuous victory in all the elections over the past 10 years was not primarily due to his party’s Islamic identity, especially since he has been struggling against extreme secularists and is in the midst of a community that lost its identity for a while. He has been victorious because he is a man who sowed and reaped; he sowed the seeds of development and justice, according to the name of his party and he reaped the people’s allegiance and conviction that he can continue to lead.

Therefore, even when his opponents accused him of corruption, repression and mismanagement and even fabricate accusations against him, he was ready to retaliate with even more force, but in accordance with the law and fair mechanisms because there is no room for leniency with the corrupt and treacherous.

Perhaps this is an important lesson in politics that those with good intentions must follow. The man did not reach his arm out to shake hands with those plotting against him, he reached out to nip them in the bud and stop them in their tracks.

After these schemers exposed and played all their cards after betting he’d lose, it seems the upcoming years will focus on cleansing the state institutions of the grip of the deep state remnants and the political, economic and security mafias. This will bring about stability in the state institutions as well as laying the foundations for a fair and transparent constitutional system that cannot be penetrated by internal coups or external plots.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.