Kılıçdaroğlu was elected the chairman of the CHP, winning the votes of 1,189 of the 1,250 delegates. Prior to the congress, Kılıçdaroğlu appeared on various live television programs and explained the foreign policy he would follow if he became chairman. His approach to Turkey's foreign policy is no different to the policy the CHP and former leader Deniz Baykal have followed until now. In fact, it's more similar to Bülent Ecevit's 1970s rustic flat cap line. According to Kılıçdaroğlu, determination in foreign policy like in the "one minute" incident needs to be maintained in relations with the EU. We need to focus on Russia, China and India as well. According to Kılıçdaroğlu, who also discussed Turkey-Armenia relations on television programs: "Armenia needs to open up its archives. Historians should come together, sit down and debate the facts. It's inappropriate for Parliament, which does not have the function of a historian or the knowledge of historical events, to reverse history by making a decision about a topic which historians have not yet resolved. If Armenia is not assigning its historians to undertake this mission, then we need to thoroughly explain Armenia's stance to both Turkey and the world because Turkey is not the one that's backing out, it is Armenia."A brief insight on foreign policy
During his lengthy speech at the congress, Kılıçdaroğlu kept the part on his approach to foreign policy fairly short. When expressing his outlook on foreign policy he began by saying: "Foreign policy should be approached with the skills of a chess master. Foreign policy cannot be executed based on personality. Foreign policy cannot be executed as a fait accompli. There are years of hard work behind it. First bureaucrats work for a very long time. Opinions develop. Countries have mutual interests. A problem is not solved when you say 'Let me go, sign a document and solve this problem.' They were not able to solve problems like that. You saw Cyprus. What did the people of Cyprus do? They buried the party the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] supported in the polls. Now it's our people's turn to do the same. We have an election coming up. We are going to bury the AK Party in the polls just like the Cypriots. You cannot maintain foreign policy with sentimentality. You sign an agreement in Dubai and put Turkey's honor on the table for $1 billion. This is not foreign policy. In law, this is called treason. I am saying this openly. They made an agreement with the Japanese and came to Parliament. One of the conditions was not giving bribes to anyone. It was not implemented because the CHP rejected it. How could a minister sign such an agreement? For God's sake, doesn't this country have any honor? The EU is very important. This process began with the signature of our second chairman. I see it as a modernization project. However, we absolutely reject the double standards that are being applied to us. Either you sit and negotiate with us properly and give us a date, or we'll say sorry, we don't need you. Because we have dynamism, we hold the future, we have the young population. Of course we want to reach EU standards. Of course we respect their legal system and ethical values. But they should stop treating Turkey like a second-class country. Of course we would like to be at the same level as modern countries and reach the level of modern civilization. We would like to be one of the special countries in the world. Of course we say yes to cooperation and investment. But the double standards they apply to Turkey bother us. EU representatives cannot learn about Turkey's realities from the lobbies of hotels and bureaucrats' offices. With respect to the constitutional amendments, they said they supported it. Then I asked EU officials why don't you implement these changes in your own country? Enact and implement them in your own country. When it comes to that, they can't do it. Why are you imposing it on us?"
Kılıçdaroğlu is not an expert on foreign policy. Naturally, he doesn't claim to be one either. However, it's clear from Kılıçdaroğlu's speech that his advisers are not experts on foreign policy, either. As a result, Kılıçdaroğlu has to predicate his general outlook on foreign policy on criticism of the AK Party's policies. You cannot carry out foreign policy with criticism, listing meaningless slogan-like sentences that challenge the world and especially the West, saying "change and revolution" and pursuing meaningless populism. It seems like Kılıçdaroğlu understands this because there have been reports in the media that he asked two very experienced diplomats, Ambassadors Uğur Ziyal and Nabi Şensoy, to work with him. However, pursuing a foreign policy by attracting a few ambassadors is an old-fashioned tradition in Turkish political parties. Turkish foreign policy exceeded the level in which it could be dealt with by just a few people decades ago. In the West, parties have think tanks that focus on their foreign policy. These think tanks have offices in countries that are of high interest to the party. Parties also work with independent think tanks to develop their foreign policy. There is only one party in Turkey that understands the importance of think tanks in developing Turkey's foreign policy and supports them, and that is the AK Party. After all, the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), which is close to the government, had a significant role in developing the AK Party's election manifesto. The AK Party also benefits from the experience of reputable Turkish think tanks such as the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM), the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) and the Middle East Strategic Research Center (ORSAM) regardless of whether the information they provide is compatible with the party's line. This has enabled the party to broaden its horizon. However, the election manifesto of the CHP alone, a party that has no interaction with think tanks, shows that the CHP has a fairly shallow view of Turkish foreign policy.
Opposition leaders in Turkey (Baykal and Devlet Bahçeli) go abroad very rarely because they are so busy with domestic politics. In the last six months, Baykal postponed his visits to the South Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Georgia and Abkhazia) and Iran indefinitely. He was also unable to go to Syria, a trip he constantly postponed and had planned to visit after the party's congress. If Kılıçdaroğlu starts focusing a little more on the outside world, it could be a change not only for the CHP but for the rest of the Turkish opposition as well. In the end, Kılıçdaroğlu needs to save the CHP from compressing its perspective on Turkish foreign policy into meaningless slogan-like sentences and criticism. If Kılıçdaroğlu can understand the increasing importance of foreign policy in a 21st century Turkey and realize that Turkey is becoming more integrated with the region and the world, it will contribute not only to the CHP's but also to Turkey's vision.
