The staged photo didn’t last long
With a fabricated meeting, distributed photos, and messages delivered from the podium, national politics has turned into a third-rate film. From the leading role to the extras, the regime struggles to appear convincing in a role it plays with a full cast.
The photo that surfaced after a meeting apparently staged by Numan Kurtulmuş during Parliament’s opening reception served as a temporary lifeline in Erdoğan’s declining political career. Temporary, because it is almost impossible for such an image to yield any lasting political effect. Leaving that for a second piece, let’s focus on the photo itself. A year ago, the star of the opening reception was Devlet Bahçeli. This time, Erdoğan took the stage. Having never attended such receptions before, Erdoğan made his appearance this year. Accounts from parliamentary correspondents show that the evening was a cheap performance orchestrated in the Palace and directed by Kurtulmuş. From Erdoğan’s seat to the arrangement of politicians around him, every frame was pre-planned. Facing a crisis of legitimacy, the government tried to respond with a photograph. Whether it achieved its goal is too early to tell.
WHO WAS THE MESSAGE FOR?
Erdoğan and Bahçeli were pleased with the image from Parliament, saying it should be seen as a photo of Turkey itself. Erdoğan’s posture, body language, and his interactions with party leaders seemed to say, “Know the value of being here.” DEM, in particular, was under full pressure. After the release of the photo, not only the ruling alliance but also the opposition parties in the frame felt obliged to issue statements. DEM officials stressed firmly that it was wrong to draw major conclusions from a single photo. It must be said that the real force behind this statement was the Kurdish electorate. According to BUPAR’s survey released last weekend, 70% of Kurdish voters say they “would not vote for Erdoğan even if Öcalan were involved.” Only 11% said they would support him under those conditions. DEM leaders cannot simply ignore this reality, which is why they keep repeating their call for “immediate steps.” For now, DEM officials have nothing positive to convince their voters with.
ATTACKS ON CHP WILL CONTINUE
A similar situation applies to other opposition parties. A significant part of the İYİ Party, DEVA, and Future Party electorates share the same attitude toward Erdoğan. The messages from Bahçeli at the parliamentary podium and Erdoğan from Azerbaijani soil show that a “domestic front” excluding CHP will continue to be pursued. Yet this path is full of obstacles. No opposition party can act while ignoring its own voters. The contradictions between these voters and the government remain irreconcilable. Soon, the issues of Syria, the economy, and the judiciary will cause this photo to fall apart. What will accelerate this process is the ability of opposition forces outside that frame to move consistently with the people’s demands. Politics, which has turned into spectacle, needs to return to real life. With a poorly written script and a production done on the cheap, the political elite is trying to redesign the stage. Yet every actor in this film, from the lead to the extra, faces a credibility problem before the audience.
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THE KOCABIYIK AFFAIR
Former AKP MP Hüseyin Kocabıyık was first detained and then arrested on charges of “insulting the President.” The arrest came after his remarks to Cumhuriyet newspaper. It is clear that in a country where a man who served the AKP for years can be imprisoned over minor criticism, talk of “normalisation” is meaningless. The incident reveals another truth: the AKP fears genuine criticism, especially when it comes from within. Kocabıyık’s arrest is a warning shot to every AKP member considering speaking out.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Kurgu fotoğrafın ömrü uzun değil: Seti kurmakta ucuza kaçtılar, published in BirGün newspaper on October 8, 2025.
