For quite some time, I had been wondering how Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu viewed the UBP congress process. At last, we met on the “Günlük” program I host on Ada Tv, and, so to speak, I bombarded him with questions.
First, I should point out that Mr. Ertuğruloğlu is following the process closely. He believes that the fact that many of the things he had raised before are now being discussed shows just how right he was. He says that this is why he has not spoken much during the process. “I said all of this a long time ago, and now it’s being discussed. When no one else was saying anything, I came out and said, ‘The Emperor has no clothes,’” Ertuğruloğlu says. He believes that the “Great UBP” people talk about can only become possible by going through this process, adding, “The UBP had to go through this process...”
When I asked, “Is the UBP growing, or is it shrinking?” Ertuğruloğlu replied, “It cannot become a great UBP until it frees itself from Eroğlu’s influence... If the party has to shrink in order to free itself from Eroğlu, that’s no problem. First it shrinks and cleans itself up, then it grows. At this point, I think it should be called not the great UBP but the new UBP.” He added, “I use the term ‘dynasty party,’ but people interpret it as ‘family party’ and debate it incorrectly. Eroğlu says, ‘My wife and children are party members.’ The issue is not whether family members are UBP members. By ‘dynasty,’ we mean people who share Eroğlu’s way of thinking being in the party.”
Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu claims that the real candidate in the current UBP congress process is Eroğlu, not Ahmet Kaşif. He assesses President Derviş Eroğlu’s statements as follows: “Eroğlu is unaware that he is the President. He says he has the right to talk about the UBP. You are the President. You should be impartial and above the parties. Eroğlu is accusing the Prime Minister. The blind man thinks everyone is blind. He himself has done everything he is accusing others of doing today... Mr. Eroğlu says people are trying to involve him in the process. That’s a lie; he is personally involved. Two years ago, while supporting Mr. İrsen, Mr. Eroğlu personally called delegates one by one and said, ‘Nothing will come of Ahmet; support İrsen.’ Now he is supporting Kaşif and is once again calling delegates one by one to say, ‘Nothing will come of İrsen; support Ahmet’... Everything Eroğlu says is a lie, a sham...”
When I asked, “Will you return to the UBP?” Mr. Ertuğruloğlu spoke very clearly. “I will return to the UBP if Mr. İrsen wins. I don’t think Mr. İrsen will build his own dynasty. We met once, and he invited me to join the party. My colleagues in the party are also making serious requests for me to return. In my view, Mr. İrsen’s aim is to run for President. Meanwhile, some people in the media are saying that I’m bargaining to get a ministerial post. I have never had that mindset. I have never bargained with anyone for a ministry or anything else. If I had wanted to, I would be Prime Minister right now. I raised the banner against Eroğlu’s way of thinking. I have never bargained for a seat of power,” he says.
Finally, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, who advocates a presidential system at every opportunity, has a warning if the country adopts this system. “Neither someone with Mr. İrsen’s way of thinking nor someone with Eroğlu’s way of thinking should become President,” Ertuğruloğlu says.
Those were the main points from our program with Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu. I cannot say what time will tell, but it looks as though Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu will return to the UBP if İrsen Küçük emerges as its leader at the congress.
Until next time, have a good weekend...