Their biggest fiasco to be

It was Republic Day on Thursday, Oct. 29. I remembered this great quote of ?smet ?nönü, the second president of Turkey, that has been carved in my memory. "My biggest victory is my fiasco in these elections?"

Turkey had started its transition to multi-party life, to the march of real democracy, with these honest elections held in 1950. 

?nönü is on this side, the person who came to power with a one-party election, who knew how to leave with a multi-party election, who is able to digest this and write a victory legend out of this?

On the other side, there are those who came to power with multi-party elections, then downgraded the regime into a one-party one, those who cannot even stomach the coalition message that came out of the ballot box? 

Do you know why the symbol of the republic is still Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and ?smet ?nönü? This is the reason why?

It is a virtue to come to power in democracy; however, knowing how to leave is an even bigger virtue. 
The person who bears the shame of issuing the oppressive and cruel law called the Law on the Maintenance of Order (Takrir-i Sükûn) is ?nönü? 

But he is also the bearer of the honor that transformed our country to a multi-party regime. 

This second ?nönü has remained in our hearts? 

What I want to say to you, dear esteemed president, is that to be the president of the people, to turn the hate of the 60 percent of the people into love, to be remembered positively in the future, it is still not too late?

Please think of this on the evening of Nov. 1? 

What comes to my mind when the republic is mentioned 

It is the egalitarian education that brought poor Süleyman Demirel from the village of ?slamköy, the middle-class...