Why Erdogan must expand his ultranationalist alliances
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s growing dependency on Gray Wolves may mean more trouble for the Kurds and political dissidents in Europe, while increasing risks for Syrian refugees inside Turkey.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli extended in early August an invitation to his archrival Meral Aksener, chairwoman of the Good Party, “to come back home.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in an unofficial coalition with the MHP for the last four years, publicly supported Bahceli’s invitation as "reasonable.”
Erdogan said that for a “party we view as native and national, it would not be appropriate to walk hand in hand with terror organizations.”
These statements are puzzling. The Good Party is an offshoot of the MHP, established in October 2017, in part due to personal rivalries between Bahceli and Aksener. Their cadres share similar ideological roots as ultranationalists, many of whom are referred to as Gray Wolves, or Idealist Hearths (Ulku Ocaklari). Despite their similar roots, opposition to Erdogan and Islamism also factored into the split.
“Bahceli and Aksener did not even exchange proper Eid [al-Adha] greetings [July 30-Aug. 3]. These two have lampooned each other at every instance for years. The sudden invite is due to Erdogan. Bahceli’s health is deteriorating. His party is losing support. Erdogan would like to sustain Gray Wolves' support after Bahceli is gone,” said a senior bureaucrat from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on condition of anonymity.
