IBNA EU publisher and Bosphorus News contributing editor Spiros Sideris, in an analysis published on July 26, 2026, examines whether Özgür Özel's Yeni Parti can convert its parliamentary strength into lasting political leadership after breaking with the Republican People's Party.
Sideris argues that the struggle is not primarily between competing ideologies, since both movements claim the Kemalist and social democratic legacy. The real contest will unfold through municipalities, provincial organisations, local political networks and the loyalties of opposition voters.
Yeni Parti may now command the larger opposition group in parliament, but its lawmakers were elected on CHP lists and the movement has yet to establish an independent electoral base. Its future may therefore depend less on parliamentary arithmetic than on whether it can build a durable organisation beyond Ankara.
The analysis also considers how the split could benefit President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by dividing the secular opposition, while assessing Yeni Parti's positions on institutional reform, social policy, the European Union and NATO. Sideris concludes that the party has secured the formal position of main opposition but has not yet won the broader contest to inherit the CHP's political identity.
Read the full analysis by Spiros Sideris:
https://www.ibnaeu.com/2026/07/26/yeni-parti-battle-for-the-soul-of-chp/