Felicity (Saadet) Party Deputy Chairman Cafer Güneş made important assessments on the agenda at the press conference he held. Underlining that Turkey has been grappling with the spiral of inflation and exchange rate for the last year, Güneş noted that, contrary to the growth figures, income inequality, poverty and impoverishment are growing in Turkey and said, "Turkey is supposedly growing, but for some reason, the bread that passes through our nation's stomach is getting smaller day by day. Turkey is supposedly growing, but people's quality of life is declining. Turkey is supposedly growing, but the hopes of retirees, young people, minimum wage workers and civil servants are fading. Turkey is growing, but people are living with an increasing debt burden every day."
Saadet Party Deputy Chairman Cafer Güneş made important assessments on the agenda at the press conference he held. Underlining that Turkey has been struggling with the inflation and exchange rate spiral for the last 1 year as a result of the wrong steps taken by the government. He stated that Turkey is struggling with an unprecedented economic crisis in history. Expressing that the crisis experienced today is the crisis created by the Erdoğan government, Güneş continued his speech as follows: “This crisis is a crisis of the People's Alliance. Because when we look at the energy prices, food prices and inflation indicators in the world, Turkey follows a clearly different course from similar countries. For example, the liter price of gasoline exceeded 27 Turkish Liras (TL) as a result of the consecutive price hikes in fuel over the past week. In 2014-2015, when the price of Brent oil was higher than today, the liter price of gasoline in our country was around 5 TL. However, today, although brent oil has reached its previous prices, the liter price of gasoline is much higher than it was then.”
“20 PERCENT IS GLOBAL, THE REST IS THE WORK OF POWER!”
Stating that according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, Turkey's share in the world economy is 0,67 percent, it has reached the second lowest level in 42 years. “According to another indicator that we have mentioned on occasion, Turkey is among the OECD countries; It ranks 6th among 198 countries in inflation. With 735 CDS bankruptcy risk premium, it is the 3rd country with the highest risk premium. It became the country with the lowest minimum wage with $260. We are in the 1st place in manufacturing inputs inflation with 121 percent. In short, Turkey created the inflation it is in today with its own hands. If 20 percent of the inflation we are experiencing is caused by global developments, unfortunately, the rest is the work of the Erdogan government and its partners,” he added.
“THIS GROWTH IS A GROWTH THAT STRANGLES THE LOW INCOME EARNERS”
Reminding that Turkey grew by 7,3 percent in the first quarter of 2022, Güneş said, “Yes, we are growing numerically, but this growth is a growth that impoverishes the nation and enriches the wealthy. This growth, in their own words, is a growth that strangles the throat of the low-income earners. Because while Turkey grows only at current prices, other economic indicators shrinks. While this growth in current prices is written to employers and businesses, the share of employees is decreasing day by day.”
“HOW DOES INFLATION STAY AT 70 PERCENT WHEN PRICES INCREASED SO MUCH?”
Reminding that Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) announced 73 percent inflation, Güneş added, “But when we look at the price increase of some products in just one year, we see that the facts are much worse. When the prices in June of 2021 and 2022 are compared; tea increased by 100,28 percent, milk 161,74 percent, yogurt 125,44 percent, minced meat 127,27 percent, flour 182,58 percent, eggs 114,28 percent, sunflower oil 104,40 percent. Rental and housing prices, on the other hand, increased by more than 200 percent. So, how is it that inflation remains at 70 percent while the prices in the market increase at this rate? While Turkey's economy is growing numerically, the price of everything from bread to milk, from needles to thread, from fuel to housing is also increasing.”
“IN A TECHNICAL MEANING THERE IS NO GOVERNMENT”
“The economic crisis we are experiencing is not an insurmountable,” said Güneş and continued: “However, there is no government will to put forward this solution. Even though President Erdogan, in his last speech, said, ‘There is no technical inflation in our country, there is a high cost of living,’ there is an unprecedented rate of inflation in our country, both with its growth rate and its continuity, even during the Second World War. However, despite these facts that the people feel bitterly, the government is trying to cover up the problems and scratch the nerve endings of the society in order to keep the popular support it has lost. They may not know how to solve inflation and cost of living. However, although they know very well how to prevent the deepening of the crisis, they continue to make the same mistakes and make the same wrong sentences. From this perspective, we are faced with a government that has lost its will and ability to manage the crisis. To put it more clearly, unfortunately, there is no technical government in our country. He took the power of the state behind him, turned his back on the problems of the people, There is an oligarchic structure that uses all the possibilities of the state for its own environment with the power it has behind it.”
“WE ARE BACK TO THE LEVEL 20 YEARS AGO”
Noting that despite the potential to make a big leap, it has returned to the level of 20 years ago, Güneş added, “Our country, which has self-sufficient agricultural capacity, is at the peak of food inflation today. We had a large capital with its young population. Today, however, our young people are looking for a way to leave their country in a resentful way. Despite our production capacity and our unique geopolitical position, our dependence on foreign sources has reached the point where we are bankrupt. Despite all this, we believe that it is possible to get out of this crisis and we know the ways out. Because, like our entire nation, we witness the causes that led to the crisis with regret. The first step in getting rid of the crisis will be to get rid of the government in partnership with the People's Alliance, which has dragged us into this deep crisis and poverty. With every package they announced as great good news, they made the economy even more stalemate. This government, which could not achieve its goals, has made our country tired along with itself. That's why we, as the Saadet Party; We promise a new Turkey where a strong parliament, an independent judiciary, and a legal basis that guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms will be built, where merit, competence, transparency and freedoms have become the norm again. We are ready for this new Turkey and we are working hard for it. We dream of a Turkey where people start their day with new hopes, not with a livelihood, where they do not have to look at the money in their pockets in the face of products whose prices have increased compared to the previous day, where they do not have to be pessimistic for themselves and their children, and where they do not have to reduce the bread on their table.”
“HOPES ARE FADING”
Saying that, contrary to the growth figures, income inequality, poverty and impoverishment are growing in Turkey, Güneş said, “Turkey is growing so-called, but for some reason, the bread that passes through our nation's stomach is getting smaller day by day. Turkey is supposedly growing, but people's quality of life is declining. Turkey is supposedly growing, but the hopes of retirees, young people, minimum wage workers and civil servants are fading. Turkey is growing, but people are living with an increasing debt burden day by day. According to Central Bank (TCMB) data, the amount of debit and credit card spending broke a record with 66 billion TL in the week of May 21-27. The one-year increase rate in card expenditures reached 109,4 percent. The total amount of card spending broke a record with 64,1 billion TL in the previous week. In the same week last year, the amount of spending with cards was 31,5 billion TL. Non-performing retail credit card debt rose from 5,3 billion TL to TL 6,6 billion. Even the amount borrowed by the Treasury in the last two auctions is over 100 billion TL. Moreover, this borrowing was carried out with high real interest rates due to the interest rates that the President said he had lowered. The government borrowing interest increased from 17-18 percent to 25-26 percent. Unfortunately, it does not mean that It's just the Treasury's money in debt, it also means that the current government covets the labor of future generations, unfortunately.”