Erdoğan is a true socialist, says PM’s adviser Yiğit Bulut

ISTANBUL

Yiğit Bulut was appointed as chief adviser of Erdoğan in July. DHA Photo

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a “true socialist,” according to controversial adviser Yiğit Bulut.

Discussing economic changes in Turkey, Bulut criticized those on the left.

“I’m asking those who have identified themselves with concepts like the left, socialism and justice. Have you said one word about the banking system or labor rights in Turkey in the last 60 years? Have you said anything against the interests of capital groups?” Bulut asked at a conference in Istanbul on Oct. 1.

“If you had said a single word, I will apologize to socialists,” Bulut said, daily Radikal reported. “If there is a true socialist in Turkey, it is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” he said.

Bulut, the former news anchor and editor-in-chief of private news broadcaster 24 TV, was appointed as chief adviser of Erdoğan in July. Bulut is still a columnist for daily Star.

The adviser made worldwide headlines during the Gezi Park protests over the summer by claiming that foreign powers were attempting to “kill Erdoğan with telekinesis.”