The most important question that our people ask each other on the street lately is, without a doubt, the question of "what will be the future of the economy in particular and politics in general".
The reason for asking the question is just as important as the nature of the question.
Because people who ask "what will happen to us" ask these questions around them because they can't find a way out by thinking.
This situation contains very important messages that should be taken into account for both the ruling and opposition parties.
The first message to be received here; It is when doubt about one's ability to manage begins to become a common belief.
The voter, which is meant here, is the AK Party voter, for the first time started to accept that the party he has supported for twenty years has lost its power to govern.
This acceptance represents an important step. If there is to be a search for an alternative, it will only begin after accepting the problem.
Another message that the voters reflect on the street is that they do not tend to the current alternative candidates. This means that the voters think that the current opposition has not yet given them confidence in governing.
In short, voters neither trust the government nor the opposition!
In that case, political parties need to listen and guide the voters more than ever before.
For this, of course, it is necessary to make correct diagnoses first. The reason for which voters go to the polls and make a choice is always interesting in terms of scientific research.
Numerous factors, from the economic course of the country to the education level of the voters, from the electoral system applied to the knowledge of the place of residence of the voters, are the sources of voter behavior.
However, it should be kept in mind that the voters in Turkey do not think like an ideologue, but mostly act with their "feelings".
Let us explain our point with a concrete example.
In many studies on the November 3, 2002 elections, it is known that two emotions particularly come to the fore in the reasons for voting.
The first of these; It's the feeling of "anger". The voters were very angry with the DSP-MHP-ANAP government, which could not manage the economic crisis process well. The feeling that these three parties cannot solve the economic and political problems of Ecevit, embodied in his health problems, combined with anger and became a belief in the voters.
Of course, the feeling of anger alone does not explain why the electorate voted for the AK Party. Because, although the voters are angry with DSP-MHP-ANAP, the question why they voted for the AK Party and not another party remains unanswered.
Here, too, the second most important emotion is the feeling of “trust”. The voters "trust" to the students of Erbakan Hodja, whose services he witnessed, but who were removed from the administration because of his ideas and were "not allowed" to power. The voters have come to the conclusion that the AK Party, which is believed to have been founded with the vote of Erbakan Hodja, has young staff and projects that will carry the services provided in local administrations to the central power.
As a result, when the feelings of anger and trust combined, the change of power was inevitable.
When we make a political reading of today through this atmosphere in the 2002 elections, what is lacking becomes obvious.
Even though it has not turned into anger yet, a significant portion of the AK Party voters in Turkey has started to become alienated from their own party.
Developments such as the party's delay in taking action in daily politics, losing its propaganda superiority, and Erdogan's inability to appear as the sole judge in the party as before, have become much more visible today.
However, despite the expectations of the opposition parties, AK Party voters have not left their party yet. Because the decline seen in the AK Party in the polls does not turn into any rise in the opposition parties.
Of course, there could be many reasons for this. However, the opposition's appearance far from giving "confidence" is probably the most important reason. For example, the most important handicap for the opposition is that possible candidate alternatives cannot go beyond the imposition of İmamoğlu and Yavaş, and that a candidate that can be supported by large segments of society has not yet come to the fore.
In addition, the fact that CHP members display images that are at odds with the beliefs and values of the people, and that they display approaches that remind the February 28 mentality, push the AK Party voters to the feeling of protecting the existing.
That's why it is said that for change to happen, political images and messages that will inspire "confidence" in the voters must be given.
Otherwise, it may be futile to expect that the currency crisis will lead to power!
However, the current political environment in Turkey is also the most suitable environment in which parties have had the opportunity to explain their projects to the public in the last two decades.
To conclude with an example, for example, the Welfare (Refah) Party's "Just Order" exit in the 1990s should be addressed with its "confidence" inspiring aspect rather than its content.
Note: We all experience the excitement of our Millî Gazete, the sycamore of the print media, to enter its 50th year. I pray that our Millî Gazete, which is the stronghold of intellectual struggle, will continue to illuminate the path of our people with its publishing in the right direction.