Why I may vote for Kurdish nationalists

There is now less than a month until Turkey's next general elections, to be held on June 7. In the past, I would often be quite sure in these pre-election weeks about who I was going to vote for. This time, I am not. I am only sure that whomever I am going to vote for, I will not do it lovingly. There is only a higher chance at this point that this unloving vote may go for the HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party), which is basically the party of Kurdish nationalists. 

First let me explain why I am all too ambiguous. I am traditionally a center-right voter, a Turkish political tradition whose heroes include the late Adnan Menderes (1950-60) and the late Turgut Özal (1983-93). That center-right backdrop had me quite supportive of the AKP (Justice and Development Party) in the 2000's as well, for the AKP seemed to be a post-Islamist movement that evolved into the center-right. But that nice AKP is not out there anymore. It took a dramatic twist in the past three years, devolving into an Islamist, "revolutionary" and intimidating party, with an unquestionable leader whose temptation to more and more power only polarizes society more and more. 

The two main opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), are certainly more modest and arguably more likeable than the AKP at this point. But their ideologies still have elements that are not up my alley. The party whose ideology is closest to me is perhaps the Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) but I have my doubts there too. The LDP votes are miniscule (less than 0.1 percent!) and it is inevitable that my vote for them will practically be a "waste."

This is because of Turkey's unusually high and utterly shameful electoral threshold. Accordingly, unless a party...