Kılıçdaroğlu with hopes of becoming Istanbul’s Obama
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 28, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Discussing his plans for the future and comparing himself to Barack Obama, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Istanbul candidate for mayor believes he can bring change to Istanbul.
At a conference held at Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir University yesterday panelists asked Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu whether or not he could bring change to Istanbul like the change Barack Obama brought to the United States. In response, Kılıçdaroğlu tried convincing the audience to say, "Yes he can."
The ’religion card’
The success of the Obama campaign, which was explained by Dr. Haluk Gürgen, was frequently referred to during the conference. Journalist Güneri Civaoğlu, who chaired a panel, asked Kılıçdaroğlu if he could reach out to new voters by using reconciliatory rhetoric as Obama did in the United States. "That is exactly what I am trying to do," Kılıçdaroğlu said.
"There is a huge cultural divide in Istanbul. People read different newspapers, watch different TV channels, even shop at different places. Previous politicians have unfortunately deepened this gap, which I am now trying to fill." He also emphasized that he is "respectful to everyone’s beliefs," and does not "care what people wear," a line that sounded different from the one that his secularist party, the CHP, has taken in the recent years.
The irrational vote
According to Dr. Yılmaz Esmer, however, these messages and the communication efforts will not make much difference in the upcoming local elections. He called it an "intellectual fantasy" to think that the electorate can be persuaded to vote in the "right" way.
Pointing out to would-be politicians such as Baskın Oran or Mehmet Ali Bayar, who failed despite being supported by the media and carrying out ambitious campaigns, he said those means of propaganda are hardly effective in influencing Turkish elections.
"The overwhelming majority of the electorate votes not according to rational persuasion, but simply by loyalty," said Esmer, adding that when pro-AKP voters see corruption scandals in the media, they just feel sad that their party is cornered, but they don’t change their voting pattern. "Humans are much less rational than the social sciences used to assume, especially in Turkey. What counts is identity and emotion."
The ’religion card’
The success of the Obama campaign, which was explained by Dr. Haluk Gürgen, was frequently referred to during the conference. Journalist Güneri Civaoğlu, who chaired a panel, asked Kılıçdaroğlu if he could reach out to new voters by using reconciliatory rhetoric as Obama did in the United States. "That is exactly what I am trying to do," Kılıçdaroğlu said.
"There is a huge cultural divide in Istanbul. People read different newspapers, watch different TV channels, even shop at different places. Previous politicians have unfortunately deepened this gap, which I am now trying to fill." He also emphasized that he is "respectful to everyone’s beliefs," and does not "care what people wear," a line that sounded different from the one that his secularist party, the CHP, has taken in the recent years.
The irrational vote
According to Dr. Yılmaz Esmer, however, these messages and the communication efforts will not make much difference in the upcoming local elections. He called it an "intellectual fantasy" to think that the electorate can be persuaded to vote in the "right" way.
Pointing out to would-be politicians such as Baskın Oran or Mehmet Ali Bayar, who failed despite being supported by the media and carrying out ambitious campaigns, he said those means of propaganda are hardly effective in influencing Turkish elections.
"The overwhelming majority of the electorate votes not according to rational persuasion, but simply by loyalty," said Esmer, adding that when pro-AKP voters see corruption scandals in the media, they just feel sad that their party is cornered, but they don’t change their voting pattern. "Humans are much less rational than the social sciences used to assume, especially in Turkey. What counts is identity and emotion."