To write history or to be history: İYİ Parti seems to have chosen the latter

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The Nation Alliance also called the Table of Six later, was constituted by the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good (İYİ) Party and the alliance emerged as an alternative to the existing government in Türkiye. With the opposition making great success in the local elections, and with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) losing support due to the economic crisis, winning the elections became a prospect that is far more likely for the Nation Alliance.

People were, for a long time now, wondering about who the candidate of the Nation Alliance for the presidency will be. Even though the CHP leader was hinting at his candidacy, the pro-government journalists were pointing at the two metropolitan majors, Ekrem İmamoğlu ve İstanbul, and Mahsur Yavaş of Ankara. İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener was also naming İmamoğlu for candidacy.

Akşener and some others from her party were justifying their choice with the argument that they were for "nominating the candidate that will win the elections." Akşener even replied to a warning from CHP that she should not interfere with their internal affairs, saying it is "foolishness." In a TV program that she participated a little after the February 6 earthquakes, again CHP and İmamoğlu were among her topics.

In the meeting of Table of Six on February 3, Akşener chose to leave the table. When the other five political parties agreed on the candidacy of the CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, this was the end of the road for her. Leaving the table, Akşener had also left the possibility of a "candidate that will win the elections." People were saying that İYİ Party did not have a B plan. However, considering the emerging developments, it is also possible to say that Akşener's attitude is part of a plan.

The most important idea discussed after Akşener burnt the bridges was that the contractors, often named the "Gang of Five" were involved in the process. These contractors, who have been awarded the vast majority of the contracts in the last years, wanted to meet with the CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu but were rejected by him.

They then turned to the  İYİ Party. And after a meeting was held, it was not time for İYİ Party to turn in the other direction. Journalists Merdan Yanardağ and Serpil Yılmaz (*) made claims about a meeting of Akşener with the mentioned contractors, which were not responded to until now. Only Koray Aydın from İYİ Party said that he did not participate in such a meeting. However, the message posted by Kılıçdaroğlu, right after Akşener left the table was noteworthy. "I want to underline again that I am very determined about the 418 billion dollars. Each penny will be given back to the people of this nation. It is not important who you are, how you think, and who you vote for; this is your money, and you will get your due," Kılıçdaroğlu wrote.

The decision of the İYİ Party to reject Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy was unanimously agreed upon in the General Executive Board meeting of the party. Even if this, therefore, seems like a common attitude, there is leaking information from the party that some in the party are trying to convince Akşener to return to the table. And some influential figures in the party are making announcements saying, "We can return to the table."

In her last speech, Akşener said, "We will either write history, or we will be history." With the candidates "who can win the elections" turning down her offer to run for president, it seems as if she has lost the chance to "write history." There seem to be two options that she has now; either to support Kılıçdaroğlu in the second tour or to serve as a buttress to Erdoğan's government. The chance that Akşener "will be history" is more in both cases; let us see what the public opinion polls will show in the days to come.

We have to carefully watch some international media outlets arguing that Erdoğan does not need to worry about the opposition slamming his government about the cases of corruption and irregularities in the construction works, and other problems and overscoring him in the elections immediately after Akşener leaves the table.

(*) Merdan Yanardağ is the chief editor of the Tele1 TV channel and Serpil Yılmaz is an economics columnist, working for Halk TV now.  (Mİ/PE)