Turks blame Erdoğan gov't for unemployment, high inflation

Murat Yetkin writes: The citizens expect problems such as inflation, the cost of living and unemployment to be resolved through continuous correction of errors by Erdoğan instead of early elections. After all, the people gave Erdoğan the license to find solutions until 2023, and we came to this point under Erdoğan’s ruling.

Tuesday January 12 2021 10:23 am

President Erdoğan (R) and TÜSİAD chair Kaslowski are seen in a meeting in this photo dated Jan. 8.

Duvar English

Prominent journalist Murat Yetkin has penned an analysis on Turkey's current economic woes and how Turkish citizens expect a solution from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Citing a survey conducted by Kadir Has University (KHAS), Yetkin said 80 percent of the participants said that inflation and unemployment are the most important problems in Turkey.

"Turkish Statistical Institute announced the unemployment rate at 17.7 percent, despite the ongoing dismissal ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this rate is also not found convincing. Interestingly, both the employers’ organization TÜSİAD and the labor organization DİSK estimate the unemployment rate at around 23-24 percent," Yetkin wrote on his news website Yetkin Report.

"Well, who does the public blame for this? The KHAS research shows that some 13.7 percent believe that the reason is 'foreign attacks,' a justification frequently emphasized by Erdoğan. However, government decisions take the first place with 22.4 percent, Central Bank policies with 14 percent and interest rate policies with 13.9 percent. When a 10.3 percent foreign borrowing added, it calculates that more than 60 percent of the people hold government-based reasons responsible for the course of the economy," he added.

Yetkin's piece in full can be reached here.