Turkey’s new economic model successful: Erdoğan

ANKARA

The new economic model introduced by the government recently to support the Turkish Lira has achieved its purpose, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 22.

“The program we announced yesterday in order to bring the exchange rate to a level suitable for the realities of our country has achieved its purpose,” he said, addressing his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary meeting.

The spokesperson of the main opposition party talks about the need to get rid of the AKP in order to get rid of inflation, Erdoğan said. “Who was it that lowered inflation to 7 percent? We reduced it. Who was it that lowered the interest rate to 4.5 percent? We did,” he added.

“We said that we will not oppress our people with neither interest nor inflation, and we are fighting for this,” he added.

“I hope we will achieve the results we want this time, just as we have come out of the struggles we have been in so far and brought progress to our nation. Now we are in a new breakthrough. This time, we will achieve the results we want for the best,” he stated.

The winner with this economic model is not only those who have money in the bank or who export, but the whole of the country, he emphasized.

Turkey has been “tested” in every way and method in a 10-year period, also “irrational and immoral” methods were used to influence the elections, Erdoğan said, adding that terrorist organizations were mobilized and a coup attempt tried to violate the national will.

“Those who were massing on our southern borders to fight terrorism took on the patronage of terrorist organizations when Turkey stepped in” the region, he stated.

Turkey’s economy was also subject to foreign threats, Erdoğan said.

The government has struggled to protect the country by overcoming every obstacle and continued its way resolutely, “breaking all kinds of social, political, psychological and economic traps,” the president said.

“Of course, we had difficult and troublesome days, we paid the price. But we did not detach this country from its goals,” he added.

Elections to be held in 2023

Erdoğan reiterated that they would not call for early elections. “I hope we will hold elections in June 2023,” he said.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli also supports the opinion to hold the elections on its scheduled time in 2023, Erdoğan noted.

“There are no early elections. This country is a state of law. Whatever date is determined, the election will be held on that date,” the president said.