Duvar English

Main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu
on Oct. 8 paid a visit to Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA)
chairman Ali Babacan to congratulate him for the party that he
established in March.

Following
their meeting, the two opposition leaders held a press conference at
DEVA’s headquarters, during which they said they discussed Turkey’s
problems.

“There is a Turkey which is not being governed, and the cost of this is getting higher every day. Normally a sound management might be forced to go to elections,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, while Babacan touched upon the growing economic crisis in the country.

“There is an intervention amounting to 120 billion dollars since Jan. 1. This is to keep the foreign exchange rate at a specific level. It is not possible to talk about the existence of any economic policy [of the current rulership]. We are talking about steps taken randomly…It is natural that bad management leads to a loss in the value of our currency. We are talking about an economic policy that is full of contraction. The middle class is disappearing,” Babacan said.

Asked
if an alliance with DEVA was on the CHP’s agenda, Kılıçdaroğlu
said: “We came today just for a visit. We have not discussed any
alliance. If we go to elections, then such an issue might be
discussed.”

Kılıçdaroğlu
and Babacan were also asked to comment on President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan’s comments from earlier this week urging the believers of
Islam to have “patience” in the face of financial problems.

“The person who loses himself to this life’s charm loses both his world and the afterlife. The duty of the believer is not to be spoiled while living in wealth and to have patience while living in poverty,” Erdoğan said during a meeting with imams on Oct. 6.

Kılıçdaroğlu
said that Erdoğan was a “hypocrite” as he was living in a
“Palace” whereas millions are grappling with poverty in the
country. “If a person’s words and life style are different, there
is hypocrisy there,” he said.

As for Babacan, he said that a government’s job should not “be demanding patientce from citizens in the face of poverty, but rather to offer the highest level of prosperity level.”

Kılıçdaroğlu also touched upon a photo showing Erdoğan bowing when he greeted Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on Oct. 7.

“Turkey can no longer be governed. There is today a photo showing Erdoğan bowing in front another state’s executive. Why is he bowing? For money,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

“Erdoğan is my rival in politics, but he should not bow for money in front of another state’s leader,” he said.

from Duvar English https://ift.tt/30MQ6rY