Kemal Albayrak, Member of Parliament for Kırıkkale (20th and 21st terms): “WAS THIS WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BECOME?”

In the country, it now feels as if a “market of corruption” has been established in politics. Alliances built on polarization, hatred, revenge, and anger; shifting positions; those who sell their honor; political tribalism and neighborhood partisanship; the instrumentalization of civil society organizations and even faith itself… These choices that resemble a return from modern thought to a kind of tribalism push one into deep reflection.

The hostility toward the values gained with the Republic and the resulting moral decay is almost unbelievable. People whose words and hearts do not match, who are polished on the outside but broken inside, now fill the screens. The sense of shame has almost been erased. The words of a charlatan who said “everyone has a price” and even influenced high-level state politicians feel even more meaningful today.

I look around; mayors, administrators, deputies from the most opposing political views… Status no longer matters. Subservient media also erases its past and shifts direction overnight. Political transfers and expanding alliances have become almost a profession and a skill.

The one-man system; the merging of leader, party, and state; the personalization of the state and the statization of the person have destroyed every field. Poverty is no longer just material hardship; cadres have emerged who transform from the oppressed into oppressors.

Pretending to be oppressed while imitating despotism, producing against democratic tradition; weakening institutions, democratic crises, external dependency, debt burden, and the erosion of diplomacy and values have made the country unlivable.

Are the words of Ahmet Yesevi wrong when he says:
“Religious exploiters are the most loyal servants of the devil on earth”?

Is Fyodor Dostoevsky wrong when he says:
“Society has lost respect for the poor”?

Law formally exists but has been functionally suspended. State resources have turned into uncontrolled instruments of power.

It must be clearly stated that if a transition is made for the benefit of the country and the nation, I respect it. But what is the real reason behind transitions made for personal gain, fear, and corrupt relationships?

We have reached a time where shame has disappeared. Politics has turned into a wreck in need of repair and treatment. Sadly, brokers of the political market also profit from this.

Why do those who once made the harshest accusations now show slavish loyalty? It is easy to produce excuses. Yet no event has a single cause or a single consequence. Suffering whose cause is unknown has no cure.

Muhammad Iqbal says:

“Character corruption is often hidden in weakness; it reveals itself when opportunity arises. Authority, money, status, and immunity summon the envy, arrogance, and ruthlessness within a person. Power exposes what is corrupt. The real test is not poverty, but unlimited opportunity.”

Oppression is not only unjust punishment; it is also the failure to give rights to their rightful owners. Unfortunately, even accountability for this has disappeared.

Is Ahmet Arif wrong when he says:
“You broke the hearts of flower-like people, may your gardens never see spring”?

Ziya Pasha, upon seeing such people, said:
“Can any good be expected from the dawn of such a night?”

And Omar Khayyam delivers a striking verse:

“Let life favor the sycophants,
I do not put a price on my honor.
As long as I live, and even if I live longer,
I will never kiss the hand I should spit on.”

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08.05.2026
Kemal Albayrak