Now may be the perfect time to address a pressing issue: the criticism that our country has failed to produce even a single gold medalist in the Olympics. Additionally, our successful athletes in various sports where we have yet to make an impact are often overlooked, even if they do not win medals.

If I were to say that, given the dismantling of the meritocracy system in the country, the prevalence of mediocrity, and the brain drain in many fields, what kind of sporting achievements can we realistically expect?

Others' Success

Comparing ourselves with others might seem simplistic, but it's worth noting that despite economic downturns, smaller countries with lower per capita income and less cultural development have returned from the Olympics with several gold medals. For instance, how do we account for Serbia's success in producing highly skilled athletes across various disciplines?

There are elements we are neglecting or not prioritizing.

The Sports Minister, who is resigning, has announced that he will hold all the sports federations accountable under his purview. He seems to believe there is no one to hold him accountable.

We see that 600 million liras from the ministry's budget have been transferred to some associations and foundations, the identity of which no one doubts.

Merit and Trust

Training individuals is one of the most challenging and serious tasks.

Can you ensure that deserving individuals are never denied their rights, that no political interference occurs, and that everyone’s potential is realised through a nationwide mobilization?

Can you appoint only qualified individuals to the heads and management of all federations, and provide athletes with the necessary confidence?

Can you build the necessary facilities for various sports, act professionally, and ensure that athletes live comfortably?

The Olympic medal table provides the necessary answers to these questions.

The Impact of Privatization on Tourism

Fehmi Köfteoğlu states: "The worst public service is better than the best privatization. Public services, in the classical sense, are available to everyone regardless of religion, language, race, status, or economic situation. In contrast, privatized services are only accessible to those with power, position, or connections."

For some time, rising voices in Spain, Greece, Turkiye, and Italy have protested that "coastlines are public, and beaches belong to the people." This reflects public dissatisfaction with the impact of privatization on tourism.

Despite constitutions in Turkiye and laws in other countries stating that coastlines are public property, these areas were privatized during the years of privatization. As a result, many beaches became private spaces, often with exorbitant fees, contradicting the essence of public service.

The result was growing public frustration as access to beaches became restricted. The “towel movement,” which started in Greece and spread to Turkiye and other countries, symbolizes this frustration.

In response to the spread of these justified demands, governments and local authorities began implementing regulations.

Greece was the quickest to act, passing a law that bans charging for sunbeds, umbrella rentals, and bar services on 198 public beaches.

In Turkiye, municipalities have made beaches open to the public and provided free services, while the government has started to reorganize beaches in various regions, creating "public beaches" available for a nominal fee.

Italy is preparing new regulations for places where privatization led to prohibitive fees, making them inaccessible to the public.

In response, some businesses, declaring they will not vacate their spaces, have closed their locations and initiated a "sunbed strike." This has been reported in some newspapers with headlines like “occupying gangs” and “beach mafia.”

What we need to do is follow Greece’s example by enacting similar legal reforms and implementing existing regulations as seen in Turkiye.