Italy and Europe must raise their voices against the “coup” that is taking place in Turkey, the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Ozgur Ozel told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on April 29.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, described as the “coup leader” by Ozel, was in Rome on April 29 to attend Turkey and Italy’s fourth intergovernmental summit.

Imamoglu ‘would win election from prison’

Every move Erdogan makes is now dogged by the Imamoglu affair. Turkey’s leader is widely accused of jailing his chief political opponent, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, using politically-driven charges, because it is plain from opinion polling that Imamoglu would defeat him in an election.

As a candidate, Imamoglu, thrown in jail in March amid allegations of corruption and activities that benefitted terrorists, would even beat Erdogan without moving from his prison cell, Ozel told the Italian daily, noting Imamoglu has three times beaten Erdogan’s handpicked candidates in polls held for the Istanbul mayorship. Erdogan personally campaigned against Imamoglu in the Istanbul elections of March 2019, June 2019 (a rerun demanded by the Erdogan camp following the loss three months earlier) and March 2024.

The Pisa Tower test

“Erdogan will say that there is democracy in Turkey... If he manages to make politicians and Italian people believe this, then he would also be able to say without being contradicted that the Tower of Pisa is upright,” remarked Ozel.

As we know, the Pisa Tower leans, and, as we also know, there has been a coup against the man who should be the next president of Turkey, he added.

Istanbul, Roman capital

Italy is a country where the culture of democracy is deeply rooted and Istanbul is the city that was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, reflected Ozel.

“If someone imprisoned the mayor of Rome, we would support the mayor and we expect Italians to do the same to defend democracy,” he said.

Europe’s failure

Europe’s failure to take a clear position on developments in Turkey stood at odds with its core values, according to Ozel.

In the CHP’s eyes, it is essential that countries like Italy do not remain silent in the face of threats against free elections in Turkey.

It is vital that Europe stands up for democracy and justice while actively supporting the fundamental principles that define European values, the opposition leader said.

Trump factor

“When I go to visit Imamoglu, they even search my shoes,” Ozel, who has said he believes that Erdogan spoke to Donald Trump before jailing the mayor, also told the daily.

One day only

The shopping boycott against businesses seen as close to Erdogan, initiated by young people in Turkey, was only supported by the CHP for a single day since the party did not want the country’s economic crisis to worsen further or for small businesses to suffer, Ozel also said.