I often remember the words of someone from within the CHP that I spoke to after the last election when the CHP emerged first from the polls, with the AK Party trailing behind.
“You’ll see,” my friend had said, “It won’t take long for the post-election picture to deteriorate and for AK Party supporters to regain their morale. It won’t be because the AK Party will recover, but because the CHP will find a way to retreat into its shell or split apart…”
Even though I knew that our political history was filled with examples like the one my friend anticipated, I found his expectation a bit exaggerated given the euphoric atmosphere of the day.
CHP is a party that continuously reproduces itself…
Splits have occurred within parties known as ‘right-wing’ too, with new parties emerging from them. However, the situation of the CHP is different from them.
The most important difference is this: Right-wing parties, for not-so-unpredictable reasons, experience difficulties and fail to maintain unity while in power; whereas the CHP, even when far from power, becomes embroiled in personal rivalries and ends up splitting.