CHP slams Erdoğan’s remarks on early retirement

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) spokesperson on Nov. 18 slammed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks on Scandinavian countries going bankrupt because of early retirement, saying that the economic conditions in the said countries are better.

“[Erdoğan] said that Scandinavian countries went bankrupt because of early retirement. Those countries’ citizens earn five or nine times more than our citizens,” Faik Öztrak said.

The spokesperson’s remarks came during a press conference after the CHP’s Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting.

Öztrak said that if a country’s social security raises alarms, the fundamental reason is unemployment.

“In those countries, there is no such thing as unemployment,” Öztrak said, referring to Scandinavian countries.

He also conveyed that over 1.2 million college graduates are unemployed in Turkey.

“About 4 million young people, aged between 20-29, stay at home and depend on their parents for a living,” he said.

Öztrak also said that unemployment “does not only widen the retirement gap, but also causes lower levels of growth.”

Turkey ranks 79th in the world happiness index, Öztrak said. He added that the Scandinavian countries rank much higher than Turkey.

“This [ruling party] spent $40 billion for Syrian asylum seekers. Then, it should find the [financial] resources for those who cannot retire,” he said.

“If you cannot find this resource, then you should be silent,” he added.

In a ceremony on Nov. 16, President Erdoğan said that many Scandinavian countries went bankrupt because they followed a social security policy on early retirement.

“Why early retirement? Let them retire at the proper time and get pension in a much better way. When they retire early, they will not get their ideal pensions and will contribute to unemployment by looking for a second job,” he had said.