1 August 2009 / AKŞAM İSMAİL KÜÇÜKKAYA,
Sometimes politicians do not or cannot do what is right, and sometimes they do what is wrong. The realities of life and the difficulties of politics are for the most part in contradiction. The “nature of politics” operates differently.
Knowing that elections will eventually take place and the lure of popularity carry weight in the end. “Historic leaders” do not go down to the public's level, they raise the level of the public. Actually the former is easier. If you appeal to the psychology of the masses and you change the feelings of large masses, your charisma gets stronger. But history does not write about those leaders. A proverb that is frequently repeated works well when used properly: “The statesman thinks about the next generation, the politician thinks about the next elections.” In fact, leaders who intend to be statesmen while making politics can try the logical way and make use of a “strategy of balance.” Ongoing debates, polarization in the country, the search for a solution to the Kurdish issue, reflections of the global financial crisis on the layers of society -- these problems are deep and their solutions are hard. These days are historic. The way of making politics today will affect the results of the 2011 general elections and the 2012 presidential elections.
