Workers will be harmed most by price rises in Turkey: CHP head

ANKARA

Workers will be harmed most by rising prices amid the plunging value of the Turkish Lira, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said, criticizing the government’s economic policy after the lira hit another historic low against the U.S. dollar.

“The increase in sales prices have not yet been reflected onto the market. But prices will rise and it will be workers, laborers and public servants that will be harmed the most,” Kılıçdaroğlu said in a parliamentary group meeting on Nov. 29.

“Is the government not managing the economy? It cannot manage the economy well. Nobody can see the future,” he added.

The CHP head slammed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım for repeatedly intervening in the Central Bank’s decision on interest rates.

“The prime minister threatened banks 15 days ago. He said measures would have to be taken if they didn’t decrease interest rates,” he said, adding that Yıldırım’s remarks did not work in favor of devaluing the dollar against the lira.

Government officials said the rise of the U.S. dollar against the lira was a consequence of global fluctuations caused by the U.S. presidential elections and was not a result of Turkey’s internal problems, but Kılıçdaroğlu blasted the government for underestimating the dollar’s importance to the Turkish economy.

He specifically recalled Yıldırım’s comments on how there was “no need to relate everything to the rise of the dollar.” 

“This is an important sentence, because oil is pegged to the dollar. Is it Turkey’s reality? Yes. Did you lower the price of oil when the dollar dropped? No. Rents are connected to fluctuations of the dollar and euros. The road prices are connected to dollars and euros. The export of raw materials is made in dollars. All warrants issued by governments are connected to the dollar,” Kılıçdaroğlu stated.