Less than a year ago Şener said he was abandoning active politics and hence declines to run for Parliament in the July 22 elections, but he has revived his political ambitions at a time when his former party faces a closure case, inevitably leading some to think that he is trying to capitalize on the ambiguous political atmosphere in the country. Şener’s success seems very likely given the fact that his plans are probably motivated by the AK Party closure case. “He waited and waited. It was as if he was laying an ambush. And he finally announced his delayed decision,” says Bugün’s Nuh Gönültaş, referring to Şener’s decision to reveal his political ambitions. Gönültaş is very critical of the manner in which Şener chose to part ways with the AK Party and criticizes him for continuing to be a member of the AK Party’s MKYK until the very last moment. This was the scenario that Şener, according to Gönültaş, discussed with his close associates: “Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was aware that a closure case would be filed against his party even before last year’s July 22 elections. When planning what to do in such a case, he called me and said, ‘Şener, I and my friend [President Abdullah] Gül as well as senior members of our party may face bans from politics. Remain on the side as a fresh power [as someone the court has not challenged]. Do not run for Parliament in these elections. Even take on an opposing stance. If something bad happens to us, you will take the helm and be the prime minister.’” Gönültaş asks, “Come on now, who believes this story?” adding that those who know Erdoğan and Şener very well know that this is a fabricated scenario.
Sabah’s Emre Aköz, discussing the prospects of Şener’s political success, says that the former minister is making his political calculations after assuming that the AK Party will be closed. If the AK Party is not closed, he says, that will be the day when Şener’s political career ends. If the AK Party is closed, Aköz says, Şener may have a chance by gathering disgruntled AK Party deputies and sympathizers from his ethnicity (Şener is a Circassian) around him and enjoy the clouded political atmosphere after the AK Party’s closure, Aköz claims.
Another Bugün columnist, Hakan Aygün, talks about a different scenario with regard to Şener’s plans and thinks he is very likely to be the “second man” in a new party to be established. He thinks Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, a known supporter of Şener, will see whether Şener will be able to gather public support and will come forward as a leader if he sees Şener’s popularity rising. The reason Aygün thinks Şener is unsuitable for party leadership is because he lacks political charisma, while Hisarcıkoğlu is more charismatic and an effective orator. “We can say that if Hisarcıklıoğlu sees Şener getting 10-15 percent of the nationwide vote, he will give external support to him but if Hisarcıklıoğlu sees the vote potential as more than that, he will come forward as the party leader,” argues Aygün.
