"Why Turkey needs a better opposition" is an article published by Al Jazeera today, devoted to the state of contemporary Turkish politics.
"Turkey’s democracy suffers from an opposition deficit, while a space has cleared for real political competition," the author writes.
"The recent events in Turkey have been well discussed in terms of the government response. The (mis)handling of the protests have drawn wide scrutiny from both domestic and international audiences. However, little mentioned, but no less important an issue is the role, or lack thereof, of the opposition throughout these protests in particular, and in Turkish politics in general. One of the main reasons the protestors took to the streets in order to protest the government and its policies is the inadequacy of the main opposition parties in Turkey to transform dissent into effective politics," the article reads.
The article claims that the Turkish protestors believe that their demands are not adequately represented or even addressed in the political sphere. And the parties that they voted for have failed to give voice to their demands – and that is one of the reasons behind the ongoing political turmoil.
"With the tutelage regime collapsing on itself, the space for a real political competition is being cleared. Unfortunately, as glaringly illustrated by recent protests, Turkey’s inept opposition has so far miserably failed to capitalise on that. To put it differently, Turkey’s (imperfect) democracy suffers immeasurably from an opposition deficit. And the consolidation of Turkey’s democracy and representation of all segments of its society in the political sphere is contingent upon the emergence of an effective, constructive, and progressive opposition," the author believes, and adds, that "As of present, it seems, unfortunately, that one can only dream of it."
