Until recently, Sera Kadigil was one of the rising stars of Turkey’s main opposition party, the center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP). A U.K.-educated lawyer in her late-30s, Kadigil had developed a nationwide following for her impassioned speeches in parliament, no-holds-barred style on nightly news shows, and tireless activism on women’s issues. In 2018, she even won a highly coveted seat in the CHP’s party assembly, receiving more votes than many party veterans.
So it came as a surprise when Kadigil resigned from the CHP in late June to join the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), reviving a legacy brand in Turkish politics and setting out to replicate with it the success of Greece’s Syriza and Spain’s Podemos. Kadigil will be the party’s fourth deputy alongside the party’s leader, Erkan Bas; the award-winning investigative journalist Ahmet Sik; and the actor-turned-politician Baris Atay. The rumor in Ankara is several other lawmakers are currently in talks to follow suit.
