The Turkish writer, journalist and commentator left her country in 2016 due to her anti-regime writings. You are a guest of the Feltrinelli Foundation, a few days after your vote, you explain how a victory for the opposition can bring Ankara back on the path to democracy, but only “after an extremely difficult transition period”
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He could go home in a few days if, as polls show, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan really risks losing Sunday’s elections, after more than twenty years in power. Ece Temelkuran-writer, journalist, Turkish political commentator for newspapers such as «Milliyet» and «Habertürk»-left Turkey in 2016, after losing her job due to her anti-regime writings. In Milan, a guest of the Feltrinelli Foundation, a few days after her vote, Temelkuran explains how a victory for the opposition can bring Turkey back on the path to democracy, but only after an extremely difficult transition period. In fact, twenty years of building an autocracy cannot be canceled in a single day.
What will happen if President Erdogan is defeated on Sunday?
“As a Brazilian author said: after the defeat of Bolsonaro it will certainly not be heaven, but if Erdogan loses, the gates of hell would certainly close”.
What will Erdogan do if he loses?
“If Erdogan loses the election his reaction will be unknown, and unfortunately there are only dire options. He has declared that he will protect democracy as happened on the night of the coup (in 2016, ed), which does not mean protecting democracy, but clinging to power ”.
Erdogan still has a huge base. If there weren’t an economic crisis and high inflation, would you risk as you risk today?
“If there weren’t an economic crisis, Erdogan would still be quite powerful. More than the economic crisis, however, the earthquake has a weight (in February, ed). The earthquake had a massive impact on Erdogan’s perception, it created an effect: as if all the corruption accumulated during his rule was scattered everywhere when those buildings collapsed and when thousands of people died ”.
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If they win, what challenge awaits the opposition? He will be able to bring the country back on the road to democracy after twenty years. And how?
“If the opposition wins on Sunday, a very difficult period will begin for Turkey. First, Erdogan still controls the state apparatus: he ruled the country alone, he invaded the state apparatus with his supporters. He has also created a moral decadence: he has created millions in his image and likeness, cruel, ignorant and organized masses. The problem will be how they will react. However, if the opposition wins on Sunday, there will be great enthusiasm in the democratic camp, an incredible energy to make the impossible possible. Maybe Turkey will be a democratic country at the end of this very difficult period”.
How is an autocracy born?
“It is a very slow and painful process. Many think it’s just a matter of one bad guy getting to beat up the good guys, changing the country overnight. It is not so. It is a slow, painful, excruciating process: torture. It took twenty years in Turkey: they created a movement, mobilized ignorance and produced victimhood. And they have thrived by exploiting this victimhood to target “despotic elites”. They asked to be respected, but once they were respected they started to ruin all the political mechanisms and even the fundamental moral values of the country. Gradually they reached the state apparatuses. And in the end they got all the power. That’s where Turkey is today. I called it a seven-stage process, from democracy to dictatorship. We are at the last stage, the loss of the country. If Turkey succeeds in these elections, if the opposition wins, we will make a U-turn”.
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What will happen to the many political prisoners if the opposition wins?
“Some are my friends, so I can’t be super objective in giving an answer. I would like them to be released immediately, the day after the vote if possible. They obviously don’t deserve to be there, not an hour longer. The opposition leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has already promised that political prisoners will be released, we must trust him”.
You left Turkey in 2016, will you return if the opposition succeeds?
“I will be able to return if Erdogan loses. And that’s enough, because I’ll feel safe. And like me many others”.
What was the role of Turkish intellectuals in this campaign?
“Even if the opposition wins, we know there are too many people who paved the way for this authoritarian regime. We will have to forgive a lot, forgive those who legitimized Erdogan above all in the eyes of the Western world, especially during his first mandate, since 2002. There were few of us at the time who criticized Erdogan, both in the country and abroad. It’s hard for me to forgive them today, but the opposition leader teaches us something very important, which will be a lesson for all those countries fighting against authoritarianism: radical love in politics. And he says: aim for the leader, but forgive his supporters. This is the only way out of this polarization and hostility”.
What effect would a defeat of Erdogan have on the autocracies of the region?
“Erdogan’s defeat would mean a lot to the region. His regime is the last frontier of Islamism associated with economic liberalism. He would be the last leader linked to political Islam to fall ”.
