CHP leader criticizes gov’t economic policies

ANKARA

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu criticized the government for its economic policies and warned citizens of possible price hikes in the near future.

Speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting on Oct. 5, Kılıçdaroğlu resembled the future of Turkey’s economy to “cold winter.”

“We will experience a winter economy,” he said, adding, “People cannot pay their bills. There have not been any price hikes yet. You will see [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan’s economy in the dark. There will be price hikes like rain.”

“Who will fight these price hikes? Who will stand against it? We will stand with our dignity,” he stated.

The website of the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry states that while 1,037,000 citizens were unable to pay their electricity bills in January 2021, this number increased to 5,166,000 in April, Kılıçdaroğlu noted.

Kılıçdaroğlu also said that the current minimum wage at 2,825 Turkish Liras ($319) is not enough to make ends meet, adding that minimum wage earners should not pay tax.

Emphasizing the necessity for reinstating the parliamentary system, the CHP leader said, “When we say we will bring a strengthened parliamentary system, our main philosophy is that the deputy should be the deputy of the nation.”

If his party comes to power, the first law they would first enact would be the political moral code, Kılıçdaroğlu added.