Recommendations to the Opposition Bloc
An asymmetric and overly fragmented view of the Turkish political race should be balanced in a way that democratic representation can fairly come into being. MAZ Corporate is now observing some tactical errors in the moves of “The Table of Six.”
Behaviorally and visually, quick aggregation after artificial or real divergences in the bloc is the first error in my view. Problems are solved too fast, and images and pictures of unity appear in a little hurry. While Erdogan is silent and waiting. Fast aggregations, shocking meetings, and very quick shows of unity create a cognition of insecurity in the minds of people. Looking united doesn’t always produce the desired result. Nuances are highly critical for those who know.
Therefore, the Opposition bloc, “The Table of Six,” should calm down, come together slowly one by one in days, play chess carefully and securely, don’t hurry, speak less. The speed of movement of unity should grow day by day and must peak in the latest days of the campaign.
- Stop talking about Erdogan and his party AKP. Negative or positive, stop campaigning for him. Stop copying him and his techniques. Stop agitating pious Turkish people. Stop alienating Kurdish citizens. Stop using the same techniques you all have used for 20 years, such as the narrative “AKP is being divided from within.” This doesn’t work and has never worked out. People don’t care about the same arguments, and Turkish people don’t value such classic and boring tactical news. Be more creative.
- In the eyes of Turkish people, Kılıcdaroğlu’s charisma is quite low despite his stance of Gandhian justice. Turkish people anthropologically love power more than a just leader. His personal vote share is no more than 15% and far less than his party CHP, which consists of 25% of the total population of Turkey. Therefore, copying the leadership tactics of Erdogan with the slogan “benim halkım (my people),” “benim milletim (my nation)” is not effective nor efficient. It seems well-known by the consultants of CHP, and that is why Kılıcdaroglu’s first words after his candidacy speech, “aday ben değilim, aday millet (candidate is not me, but the nation). However, his technique seems still weak. The bloc has come together to talk about how to grow his influence despite his low profile charisma. MAZ Corporate recommends that instead of a just leadership argument, the argument of “change to get rid of corruption and fear” should be the focus and the game-changing strategy. This way, people of Turkey can focus their emotions and voting behavior on “GET RID OF” instead of “MECBUR VERİYORUZ” (we support Kılıçdaroğlu, because there is no other alternative).
- Stop repeating your plan for a system change. Don’t waste your time talking about topics that the majority of voters don’t care about. The uneducated population is not interested in high-level agendas. You still have no great slogans. You must work on touching people’s daily life and hurt sides. For example:
- Bıktık Artık Ya! (We are tired of ya!)
- Peynir 200 lira, Cehenneme Git! (Cheese is 200 TL, Go to Hell!)
- Hak Yiyenler Mezara! (Unfairs to the grave!)
- Al! Al! Al! Al! Al! Al! Al! (Take it, Take it, Take it, Take it, Take it)
- Pazar Günü Mülakat Var! (Sunday Interview!)
- Üzgünüm Recep! (Sorry Recep!)
- Yazıklar Olsun! (Shame on you!)
- Kiracı artık Erdoğan! (The tenant is now Erdoğan!)
- Nereye Bilal?! (Where are you going Bilal?)
- Çile Bitiyor! (Ordeal is over!)
- Sabret Türkiye! (Patience, Turkiye!)
- Kurtuluyoruz! (We are getting rid!)
- Hadi Hayırlı Olsun! (May it bring good luck!)
- MAZ Corporate’s last and the most critical recommendation: Especially in the last days of the campaign, the Bloc should heat up the race more and more. Should keep attacking non-stop and never backlash until the day of silence.
Good Luck.
MAZ Corporate Consulting Services
Muhammet Ali Zurnaci,
March 11, 2023, Istanbul