Meet the “Manchurian Candidate”: Mr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoglu

TURKEY - In Brief 18 Jun 2014 by Atilla Yesilada

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Quite unexpectedly, Monday’s CHP-MHP summit produced a joint candidate, called the “common roof” candidate in Turkish vernacular. Mr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoglu, the former Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation will probably represent the main stream opposition in the 10-24 August presidential race. I’ve delayed this update because a furor in CHP and AKP ranks exploded immediately after his name surfaced, leading me to think that being extraordinarily gentlemanly soul, Mr. İhsanoglu may turn down the invitation. Yet talking to leftist daily Cumhuriyet reporter Mr. Utku Cakirozer, he sounded as if he is ready to hit the campaign trail soon. Mr. İhsanoglu is immediately tagged the Turkish equivalent of the “Manchurian Candidate” by pro-AKP sources, because they suspect he has been “planted” by “the powers that be” to depose Erdogan. The fact that Mr. İhsanoglu refused to condemn the Sisi coup in Egypt rendered him a pariah in the eyes of AKP. The Wikipedia link does justice to the CV one of Turkey’s very few global-level civil servants. I may add that İhsanoglu is a devout Moslem, but not an Islamist (his wife doesn’t wear the turban) and a scholar of the theory of science and philosophy of Moslem, rather than a divinity professor. Another fact about him is his extreme affability and the impossibility of rankling him. In other words he is the exact opposite of Mr. Erdogan. CHP-MHP surprised everyone with their candidate and turned the spotlight on themselves, but is Mr. İhsanoglu “electable”? So far CEOs of Genar, Konsensus and KONDA, three respectable polling companies, spoke to the press, all claiming that the choice of Mr. İhsanoglu handed the job to Erdo...