An unprecedented jump in inflation rates in Turkey, and a broad mockery of Erdogan: He needs a math teacher
After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan boasted about his claims to be the cause of the people’s welfare, the official figures show that his statements are false and show the suffering of the Turkish people, who are facing a crisis of high inflation.
Jump in inflation
Turkey’s annual inflation rate jumped to 48.69% in January, its highest level in nearly 20 years.
Turkey’s inflation rate is the highest since April 2002, which surpassed even experts’ expectations, with a series of unconventional rate cuts and a sharp depreciation of the lira late last year.
The Independent Inflation Research Group said: Turkey’s annual inflation rate last year was 114.87%, more than double that officially announced.
The group added that the increase in monetary inflation in January was 15.52%, and that electricity prices were the highest increase.
Official figures
The Turkish Statistical Institute reported that the consumer price index rose 11.1% on a monthly basis, compared with a Reuters survey forecast of 9.8% and an annual forecast of 46.7%.
The data also showed that the producer price index rose 10.45% on a monthly basis in January, rising year-on-year to 93.53% in a reflection of the disturbances related to the exchange rate in the past months. Last December, prices rose to 36.08% on an annual basis.
Mutual accusation
Inflation is a controversial issue in Turkey, which coincides with less than 18 months since the upcoming presidential elections. The opposition and some Turkish and foreign economists have accused the National Statistics Bureau of reducing its proportion by more than half.
The distrust was compounded by Erdogan’s recent decision, which last week fired the director of the Census Bureau, in his fifth such switch since 2019, and the encouragement of price hikes by pushing the Turkish Central Bank to cut interest rates almost systematically in recent months – a pledge last January to “bring inflation down” to less than 10% “as soon as possible”.
Mockery of Erdogan
Erdogan’s recent statements caused an outcry on social media during a speech at the General Assembly of the Young Businessmen Union in Turkey, where he said: “When the AKP took power, Turkey’s transfer was such a quantum leap that there was no electricity before they came to power”.
Erdogan claimed that there had been no investment in energy before the AKP, only gas lamps in people’s homes, but that changed as the AKP took power last January, registering its highest level in almost 20 years.
Turkey’s inflation rate is the highest since April 2002, which surpassed even experts’ expectations, with a series of unconventional rate cuts and a sharp depreciation of the lira late last year.
He also claimed that the houses were empty of refrigerators and bakeries before the advent of “justice and development” and said: “I wonder if we could find furnaces in homes 15 years ago in Turkey? I wonder if we can find refrigerators in homes?”.
Erdogan’s comments come amid growing complaints about rising energy prices in the country, especially electricity and natural gas, which caused a wave of ridicule. “Erdogan will say next time that they invented the fire”.
Ali Babacan, leader of the Democracy and Progress Party, also mocked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying: He needs math lessons.
Babacan said: “It’s necessary to give him a Turkish language lesson, starting with the alphabet, then a math lesson, starting with numbers, because he obviously doesn’t know how to count”, he said, adding: “Is there a downward trend in inflation to say it will decline further?”.
Babacan continued: I have good news and bad news for Erdogan. Let’s start with the good news: Inflation will certainly fall. The bad news: When inflation hits its lowest point, the president will not be Erdogan. We will be happy to get this country out of the crisis and reduce inflation.
