Breaking News: Özgür Özel addresses AKP voters! A striking analogy...

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made assessments regarding the current agenda during his party's group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

Summarizing the picture of the recent period in his speech, Özel stated: “Unfortunately, we have spent the past year under heavy burdens, and we continue to do so. We have witnessed oppression, we have experienced a coup attempt, we have shouldered the difficulties together, and we have been tested by the losses of our closest ones and our children.”

Touching upon the budget negotiations, Özel criticized the government, saying: “The only person responsible for this budget of poverty, this budget of exploitation, and this budget of interest did not come here to defend their budget, and they could not defend it. May God not put anyone in a position where they say 'give me the authority,' receive that authority, and then become unable to defend the budget they created in Parliament.”

Regarding the CHP group's work in Parliament, Özel made the following assessment: “I am pleased with the performance of our Parliamentary Group in the committees and the general assembly. They are ready to govern. I imagine Erdoğan sees it too; I am also very pleased with the performance of the AK Party. They are ready for the opposition; they have lost their perspective on governing, they have lost their ability to manage. We no longer have a ruling party before us, but a future opposition party. I don't know if they can be the main opposition, but they are ready for the opposition.”

Continuing his speech by highlighting the differences between the government and the opposition, Özel stated: “On one side, there is a CHP that sees the problem, rebels against it, and offers solutions. On the other side, we are faced with a party that either does not hear criticism or responds to the criticism it hears with insults; a party that uses the 80-minute speaking time granted to them to insult and oppose the country's main opposition party. The Justice and Development Party... Both in the Parliamentary General Assembly and in the committees, the psychological superiority has changed hands, the power has changed hands. While the current government has fallen from power in thought and deed, and the main opposition has taken its place in thought and deed, and the change of government has occurred in thought and deed, the nation is counting the days to the ballot box for the actual change.”

ADDRESS TO AKP VOTERS

In one part of his speech, Özgür Özel called out to AKP voters and recorded the following words: “Didn't you vote for Mr. Tayyip so that he could govern? He is governing. You voted for Ekrem İmamoğlu in Istanbul, but he is not being allowed to govern. Is this the rule of the game; can there be democracy on one side and autocracy on the other? Can a match be played if only one team is allowed to win? If the referee took the field wearing your team's jersey, could you really celebrate the match you won?”

AKP'S MINIMUM WAGE PLAN

Sending a message regarding the minimum wage to be implemented in the new year, Özel said, "They are preparing to offer not the actual inflation, but the expected inflation, just like last year. They intend to keep the minimum wage around 27-28 thousand liras, or even lower, and then Erdoğan turns to the employer and says, 'The shroud has no pockets.' In other words, he is saying, 'Where are you going to take all that money? Give it to the worker.' If he has the money to give, he should set the minimum wage and let them pay it without leaving it to their conscience."

Özel's speech is as follows:

"We are holding the final group meeting of 2025. For over a month, for 35 days, we had been unable to hold our group meetings due to both the budget marathon and a few valid and sad excuses."

We have unfortunately spent the past year under heavy burdens, and we continue to do so. We have witnessed oppression, experienced a coup attempt, and shouldered the difficulties together. We have been tested by the loss of our closest ones, our children. However, we are here today to take stock of the year and refresh our hopes as we enter the new year.

As I begin my speech, I remember our Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, my brother Ferdi Zeyrek, whom we lost in June; and our former Chairman Altan Öymen, who showed us all courtesy in politics, who was like a living, walking library of the Republican People's Party and the Republic, and who passed away...

Just 9 days ago, we lost our young female mayor of the district where I was born and raised, the Şehzadeler district; our sister, our child Gülşah Durbay, who had been running for our party since the age of 21, who worked hard in that district municipality on the day we considered it a success to raise the party's vote from 6 percent to 13 percent, who then ran with us at every step, and who succeeded in winning that district alone, without an alliance, with the highest vote ever received in the party's history in that district.

I remember all of them... And all our members who have contributed to our organization and our party across Turkey, who are not with us today and whom we lost in 2025, with mercy and gratitude. I would like to begin my words by hoping that 2026 does not bring such great pain.

"IF PARLIAMENT HAD NOT BEEN IN SESSION, I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN MENEMEN"

If Parliament were not in session, I would have been in Menemen as I am every year, like many of you. Today marks the 93rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Second Lieutenant Kubilay, and of Hasan... Watchman Şevki and Watchman Hasan.

Kubilay went to Menemen as a second lieutenant and, seeing those who favored mandates and protectionism walking around with Sharia flags against the star-and-crescent flag of the Republic, challenging the Republic and its founder, and pulling down the Turkish flag to hoist the Sharia flag wherever they saw it, he stood up against them with his two watchman companions.

The crazed murderers first wounded Kubilay. Then they tortured his wounded body. They severed his head from his body while he was still alive and paraded Kubilay's head in Menemen against the Republic. Since that day, Republicans, Atatürkists, and the guardians of the Republican revolution have shown that they would give their lives, but would never bow their heads to them.

We commemorate Kubilay, along with Watchman Hasan and Watchman Şevki, with mercy and gratitude on the 93rd anniversary of their martyrdom. The legacy left to us by Kubilay is that those who protect their homeland, their nation, and their flag will give their lives if necessary, but will never bow their heads to those who reach out to that flag or attempt to pull it down.

February 6th is approaching, and we are preparing to face that great pain on its first anniversary with the unquenchable fire burning within us. Today, there are those among us who lost their loved ones in the earthquake. They have come to this group repeatedly from the apartment buildings and housing complexes where they lost their relatives, to protest the fact that those who issued the permits causing that destruction, those who failed to inspect, those who cut columns, and those who built poorly were not sufficiently prosecuted; that red notices were not issued for them; that those who fled abroad were not brought back; that permission to prosecute public officials was not granted; and that those responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people are being tried without arrest in ongoing trials.

But this time, they are in this hall with a different kind of anxiety, heartache, and anger. They have been in front of Parliament for days. They have met with our deputies and our group deputy chairmen. The 11th Judicial Package is coming, which is being discussed. There is a regulation regarding Covid here. This is a justified and important expectation. But what do they see or hear from us? That within this regulation, those who bear the responsibilities I just listed, who caused the pain of those who lost their lives in this earthquake, would also benefit from this Covid amnesty..."

The relatives of those who could not make their voices heard from under the rubble on the night of February 6th and thereafter are shouting from here, 'Is there anyone who can hear our voice?' Under this supreme roof, our group will do everything in its power and more to ensure that earthquake criminals do not benefit from this regulation. I promise you.

We have heard their voices. I hope that all deputies and all groups in Parliament will hear this voice, and instead of being a tool for certain dirty lobbies or surrendering to certain political relationships, they will hear this voice and ensure that those responsible for the deaths of those who lost their lives will never, ever benefit from this amnesty.

The 2024 budget was passed in Parliament last Sunday night. First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our Plan and Budget Committee members, all our deputies, our group, and our group deputy chairmen; for their struggle over 14 days both in the committee process and in Parliament, for their approach and language that highlights the people's problems, sees the issues, and also offers solutions... I thank the Republican People's Party group, which is ready for power, ready to govern Turkey, and ready to defend the people's budget like lions in the General Assembly, for the 49 motions they submitted in accordance with the program that the Republican People's Party changed by consensus, even though none of them were accepted.

Why do I care about the defense of the budget? Because they changed the constitutional amendment that threatened the regime under state of emergency (OHAL) conditions. Those who said, 'We are declaring it for one month, a month and a half, three months, but we will lift the OHAL in less than a month or a month and a half'; even the party that boasted about not extending the OHAL—which expired on the second day of their term when they came to power—and said 'We are lifting the OHAL,' managed to fit three years into a three-month OHAL. They discussed the constitutional amendment in Parliament under OHAL conditions—which is prohibited in many constitutions around the world—campaigned under OHAL conditions, held elections under OHAL conditions, brought the ballot box and held a referendum under OHAL conditions, and threatened the regime with a referendum whose before, during, and after were highly suspicious. They did not give up on the OHAL, held a snap election under OHAL conditions, and changed the regime... 'Give the authority, see the effect.' They said, 'When we come, we will govern the country like a company with this new system.'

"THERE IS NO COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN THIS SYSTEM"

This system... There is no Council of Ministers in this system. Because the system is a government system, a one-man government system. The nation will elect one person, and he will be responsible for everything. The nation will hold only him accountable. While introducing a constitutional amendment that is incompatible with democracy and diametrically opposed to the idea of democracy—saying 'You will elect for five years, you will not interfere with the rest'—they took away the deputy's right to oral questions, the right to a motion of censure, and the Parliament's right to bring down the government. The only person responsible for this budget, this budget of poverty, this budget of exploitation, this budget of interest, did not come here to defend his budget, and could not defend it.

May God not put anyone in a position where they say 'Give the authority,' take the authority, and then cannot defend the budget they created in Parliament.

"I AM PLEASED WITH THE AK PARTY'S PERFORMANCE, THEY ARE READY FOR THE OPPOSITION"

I am pleased with our parliamentary group's performance in the committee and the General Assembly. That is why I thanked them. Why am I pleased? They are ready for power. I imagine Erdoğan sees it too; I am also very pleased with the AK Party's performance. Credit where credit is due. They are ready for the opposition. They have lost their perspective on power. They have lost their ability to govern. We no longer have a ruling party in front of us, but a prospective opposition party. I don't know if they can be the main opposition, but they are ready for the opposition.

"WE ARE FACING A PARTY THAT OPPOSES THE OPPOSITION PARTY"

When we look at the General Assembly of the Parliament or the Planning and Budget Committee, there is a party on one side that sees the problem, rebels, hears the rebellion, and proposes solutions: the Republican People's Party (CHP). On the other side, we are faced with a party that either does not hear the criticism—at the committee stage—or responds to the criticism it hears with insults, using the 80, 70-80 minutes of podium time given to them... While I spent 80 minutes on the first day explaining problems and solutions, we are facing a party—the Justice and Development Party (AKP)—that takes the podium for 80 minutes on the last day to insult, to oppose the opposition, and to oppose the country's main opposition party."

"POWER HAS CHANGED HANDS"

We were always seeing it on the streets, in the squares, at protests, and at rallies: 'The moral superiority is ours, the psychological superiority is ours.' And now we see that in the Parliament General Assembly, in the committee, and under this noble roof, the psychological superiority has changed hands. Power has changed hands. The current government has fallen from power in thought and deed, and the main opposition has taken its place in thought and deed. While the change of power has taken place in thought and deed, the nation is counting the days to the ballot box for the actual change. Therefore, in the coming process, the AKP, which no longer hears anyone's voice—not the voice of the earthquake victim, not the voice of the retiree it has condemned to hunger, not the voice of anyone with a housing problem, not the voice of the student who cannot even drink a bowl of soup a day with a 3,000 lira student loan, not the voice of those it deems worthy of a minimum wage that is two-thirds of the hunger threshold—is a party trapped in warm halls, policy-less and desperate. The Republican People's Party, on the other hand, is the ruling party that is in command of problems and solutions, growing square by square, trusting in the national will, and deriving its power and authority not from the state or a seat, but from the nation.

"THE MARCH 19 CIVIL COUP..."

Dear friends, dear citizens; the AKP crushed the worker and the retiree under high inflation and interest rates in 2025. The 2025 inflation target was 17.5 percent. They announced a 17.5 inflation target and finished the year at 30 percent. When you ask about this, they say without shame or hesitation, as if it were only 2-3 points, 'We deviated slightly from our inflation target.' The deviation they call 'slight' is 77 percent. The target was 17.5, the actual was 30. The difference in what they call 'a little bit' is this: whatever a good or service has increased in price from last year to today, they targeted half of it, and they loaded the other half onto your back due to their incompetence—or rather, not even incompetence, but their bad intentions. Half of the realized inflation was the target. So what happened? It happens in democracies; you set a target, it doesn't hold, you examine the reason. There is an earthquake, the target doesn't hold; there is a disaster, the target doesn't hold; there is a global crisis, it is impossible not to be affected by its effects, the target doesn't hold, it deviates. God forbid, there is a coup, there is a war, no target holds. What happened last year? What happened last year that this target didn't hold? Let me tell you what happened: The March 19 civil coup happened. The March 19 civil coup...

"THE COST OF THIS COUP IS 160 BILLION DOLLARS"

I remind all our citizens here. The cost of this coup is 160 billion dollars. A massive amount of money. It is about 70-80 times the money needed for retirees, and 90 times the money needed for minimum wage earners. The most visible form, which none of the business circles or economic commentators can object to, is the 100 largest companies traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Does it fall 9 percent in one day? 9 percent. People struggle for a 0.1 percent profit increase, and the average of our 100 companies fell 9 percent in one day. Another day, 6 percent. This 9 percent is the day of the coup. This 6 percent is the intervention on September 2nd, when a trustee was appointed to the Istanbul Provincial Presidency by a court—that is, the intervention of a judge appointed by another party, a judge who is a former party member under the control of a chief prosecutor appointed by the chairman of another party, into the political affairs of a party. 4 percent is the day the request to close the Republican People's Party was sent to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Cassation along with the indictment. Such drops happen in the world when there are major earthquakes or major disasters, or a world of measures is taken to prevent them from happening. But what was done to the Turkish economy is here. Conversely, when the convention case is postponed, only 5.5 percent of the loss comes back. Or 5 percent on the day the convention case is dropped. 6 when the convention case was postponed in September, 5 on the day it was dropped; a total of 11. This is what is seen in the economy through all company profitability, or rather, company values.

So what does the citizen see? What the citizen sees is that the 30 percent inflation was actually supposed to be 17.5. Total inflation, for example, the inflation of a minimum wage earner in Turkey is 63 percent. They spend that money on basic food, they spend that money on rent, they spend that money on their child's school expenses. These are also 63 percent inflation. While it was supposed to be 17.5 percent on average, it became 30. And that, according to TUIK, the statistical institute that does not upset Mr. Tayyip, became 30 percent. Let everyone know this; if you were buying minced meat for 700 liras, 600 liras last December, and now you are buying it for 800 liras; if this coup had not happened, half of the price hike would not have existed. The numbers say this.

If the gains of the Republic, entrusted by Atatürk, had not been tampered with at the ballot box on March 19th; if a coup had not been staged against Ekrem İmamoğlu—who was elected to govern 16 million people in one of the world's most well-known metropolises with over 50 percent of the vote and a margin of 1.1 million—the whole world would be saying: 'In a metropolis like Istanbul, they first seize the certificate of election, then they seize the diploma they issued 30 years ago because he might become a presidential candidate, and that's not enough; the next morning they seize the man's home, grab him by the throat, put him inside, arrest him, and keep him locked up for months...' Can you invest in this kind of Turkey, my friend? The founding party of Turkey does not have security of life and property for the candidate it intends to run for President. The founding party of the country does not have security for its provincial headquarters in a metropolis like Istanbul; they bring in an appointee with 6,000 police officers to replace the elected official. Would anyone go to this country? Would anyone invest here? People are afraid to even go on vacation in a country like this. That is what they are made to think. There is no greater evil that can be done to this beautiful country. If you gave a district of Muğla or Antalya to a European country, they would hand over the title deed of the entire nation. Such evil should not be done to the tourism, trade, or exports of such a country. This kind of evil should not be done to the dignity of a nation.

Today, the pensioner who spends half of their 200-300 lira daily pension on dilapidated, miserable hotels thinks to themselves while lying in that cold room: 'Did I deserve this after all my hard work? I am a pensioner; I have put in the effort. The state appreciated it and said, 'Don't work anymore. I will take care of you. You don't have the strength, I will take care of you, the youth will work and we will take care of you.'' Can this salary be given to this pensioner? Why can't more be given? It is because of this coup. If this government cannot meet its own inflation target in 2026, missing it by 77 percent with no other excuse, there is no other explanation for it.

"IF THIS COUP HAD NOT HAPPENED; YOUR SALARY WOULD BE HIGHER AND YOUR STOMACH WOULD BE FULLER TODAY"

You may be an AK Party supporter, I respect that; you may be an MHP supporter, I respect that. But know this: if they hadn't turned their backs on the ballot box, if they hadn't called the national will—which they hold in high regard when they win—'tainted' and renewed the election during the very first Istanbul election that Ekrem İmamoğlu won; if they hadn't defeated the prime ministers, parliamentary speakers, and their most trusted ministers they fielded against him for 5 years despite all their malice, and if they hadn't reached out to the ballot box and staged this coup because he won; your salary would be higher and your stomach would be fuller today.

"CAN THE RULE OF THIS GAME BE 'DEMOCRACY ON THIS SIDE, AUTOCRACY ON THAT SIDE'?"

I have nothing to say to the voters who cast their ballots for the Justice and Development Party. But they should know this by now: if voting is for you, then the job of the one who receives the vote is to respect the one who cast it. Whoever you say should govern, they should govern. Didn't you vote for Mr. Tayyip to govern? He is governing. You voted for someone else in Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu; they won't let him govern! Can the rule of this game be 'democracy on this side, autocracy on that side'? Can a match be played if only one team is allowed to win? If the referee takes the field wearing your team's jersey, can you really celebrate the match you won?

"I INVITE ALL OF US TO SAVE OURSELVES FROM THIS"

Therefore, regardless of which political party they voted for in the past by exercising their democratic rights, I invite all voters in the coming period to vote for a politics that remains within democracy, that does not attack democracy, that will not attack it, that will come when told to 'come' and go when told to 'go'; I invite them to protect democracy, to see what this one-man regime has done to all of us, and to save all of us from this.

My hope does not lie with Murat Emir, nor with Gökhan Günaydın. It is not in Ali Mahir, nor in myself. My hope lies in the wise people of Anatolia and the wise people of Thrace!

Our hope lies in this memory: A single man allowed the Dardanelles, which were once impassable, to be crossed through a concession. After all those martyrs, the fleet passed through the Dardanelles with ease and dropped anchor in Istanbul. Turkey was occupied in seven parts because there was a single man in charge. And one idea, the owner of an idea, the owner of the Republic idea; despite the death warrant and execution order against him, he went to Samsun, organized first the liberation and then the establishment, and while he was a national hero—the term national hero is not enough, 99% of citizens still carry love for Atatürk in their hearts—he asked those who said 'How will you govern?': 'Should we continue with the Sultanate? A British-style monarchy or an American-style presidency?'

In his youth, the owner of the Republic idea saw how Europe was developing and strengthening, who was moving forward in the world, who was standing still, and who was falling behind; he saw that democracy enriches and strengthens. He did not choose a kingdom or a sultanate for himself, but said, 'We have established an assembly, we will do whatever it tasks us with.' He brought the ballot box. His party brought the multi-party, competitive ballot box.

Back then, after the occupation, from the tremors to what was called the Land of the Blind in Adıyaman and Elazığ... While people were dying and losing their lives, the owner of that idea, who defeated all epidemics, who laid the foundations for factories for everything from sewing needles to airplanes in Kayseri, who built wagon factories, and who covered the country with iron networks to develop it in an instant—if he had asked for authority for himself, we would still be under occupation, still miserable, and perhaps exploited. We are in this state because he gave the authority to the nation and entrusted it to you. Therefore, the idea that will save this country from poverty, misery, and unemployment and make it prosperous is not Mr. Tayyip's, but Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's idea.

Look at what 'contrary ideas' did to Turkey. When they came to power, our minimum wage was higher than in 12 European countries. Now, it is not higher than any country in the European Union. We are at 446 Euros, while it is 2,100 Euros in Germany, 1,800 Euros in France, and 1,027 Euros in Greece.

"WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A GOVERNMENT THAT HAS REDUCED A MINIMUM WAGE THAT COULD BUY 8 QUARTER GOLD COINS TO 2 QUARTER GOLD COINS"

When they came to power, as you know, a Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) was introduced due to the earthquake. It was also applied to cars. The lowest was 27%, and the highest was 50%. Today, they have arrived, and the lowest ÖTV is 70%, while the highest is 220%! We are talking about a government that continues to apply a tax that was temporarily imposed for the earthquake at a rate of 220%, and has reduced a minimum wage that could buy 8 quarter gold coins when they first came to power to 2 quarter gold coins, my friends.

It goes around and around, and they throw baseless accusations of corruption at Mayor Ekrem, which they couldn't prove after 9 months. When comparing Ekrem İmamoğlu's previous 5 years with the AKP's 5 years, we see that he used half the resources in dollar terms and did twice the work. There is a fourfold increase in efficiency. Is such efficiency possible? What needs to happen for a fourfold difference? No one in the world can do four times what someone else does; even a magician couldn't do it. This means that someone was stealing three-quarters of it before! Someone was stealing three-quarters of it, and it happened because they stopped stealing.

If it's a lie, let those who don't believe it go and investigate. The 5 years before İmamoğlu, and İmamoğlu's 5 years. Twice the work is being done for half the price, at half the cost. And then they turn around and slander us. This is the situation in the country you govern; after the earthquake, you increase the SCT (Special Consumption Tax) from 50% to 220%, you collect this interest and this excess tax on everything for 23 years, and then you reduce the pension equivalent of 8 quarter-gold coins to 2, and the minimum wage equivalent of 7 quarter-gold coins to 1.5 for pensioners and 2 for minimum wage earners. Are these things that should happen?

"THERE IS DEMOCRACY IN GERMANY, THERE IS THE AK PARTY'S DARK ORDER IN TURKEY"

It's a very simple calculation, very simple: The same car is sold in Germany and it is sold in Turkey. The same car. Its price in Germany is 31,000 Euros. Its price in Turkey is 2.5 million liras. 31,000 Euros is 1.5 million in Turkey, but it is sold for 2.5 million liras because of our taxes.

There is a German minimum wage earner, Hans, and there is our minimum wage earner, Hasan. To buy the same car, the German minimum wage earner Hans works for 15 months. He won't spend any of the minimum wage he receives, he will save it; in 15 months, in 1 year and 3 months, he collects 31,000 Euros, the math is clear. The same car is 2.5 million liras in Turkey. Our Hasan has to work for 99 months without eating or drinking to collect this money. 15 months on one side, 99 months on the other. What is the difference? There is democracy in Germany, there is the AK Party's dark order in Turkey, there is no other difference!

MINIMUM WAGE DEBATE

A debate is ongoing regarding the minimum wage. There is no real debate; there is a system completely under Erdoğan's control. The unions also rebelled and walked away from the table. Whatever Erdoğan wants, that is the minimum wage. He used to put on a bit of a show, he used to add a little something, etc. Now, for a 22,000 lira minimum wage—while the hunger threshold in the country is 30,000 lira—they are preparing to provide not the realized inflation, but the expected inflation, just like last year.

They won't even make the minimum wage something like 27-28 thousand liras, they will keep it even lower, and then turn to the employer; Erdoğan says, 'The shroud has no pockets.' Meaning he says, 'Where are you going to take all that money, give it to the worker.' If he has the money to give, set the minimum wage and let him give it without it being left to his conscience. But he also knows that it is impossible for a restaurant owner who employs two people, a pharmacist who employs one assistant, or a barber who employs one assistant to pay this minimum wage, the 39,000 lira minimum wage that is deserved. He says, 'It is a right, but it doesn't exist.' He doesn't have it either. What will he do here? The state will intervene. What will it do? It will provide the social security premium as a subsidy.

"HE TURNS INTO A SUFI MASTER WHILE GIVING ADVICE TO THE EMPLOYER"

How much have we proposed? For example, the support premium is 10,400 liras. If you lower it or provide it, it becomes 39 liras for the minimum wage earner, while it is felt as 29 liras for the employer. You don't act like a state, and then you stand before the small tradesman or someone who is struggling to export textiles and ask, 'Did he bring the country to this state?' It is too low for the minimum wage earner and too high for the employer. What kind of country is this? He says, 'The shroud has no pockets.' In other words, while he is eating the rights of retirees and giving them 16,200 liras, he never thinks about eating someone's rights; then he stands before the employer and turns into a mystic, giving advice. Suddenly, he says, 'Oh my dear, the shroud has no pockets, you should do this.'

"LISTEN TO WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, MY BROTHER!"

Well, wouldn't people ask then? Rent in big cities is 30,000 liras. The minimum wage you are thinking of implementing doesn't even cover the rent. Or the hunger threshold is 30,000 liras. The pension he plans to give is 20,000 liras; they will make the lowest pension 20,000 liras, which is two-thirds of the hunger threshold. And then, when the hotels in Uludağ make the news, the Minister of Family comes out and says, 'Retirees chose to stay there.' When one hears these things, one really has to... I mean, there is one female minister in the cabinet, and I try not to say anything bad about her. Half of Turkey is women, half is men; they say, 'You can only be responsible for women, for the family.' That's why we are always cautious not to say anything, but listen to what you are saying, my brother! Listen to what you are saying.

"HE DOESN'T SAY 'YOU ARE NOT GERMANY', HE SAYS 'YOU ARE NOT KENYA'"

Turkey's credit risk premium (CDS) should be between 50 and 100 compared to peer countries. Chairman Murat explained the CDS premiums. How much is it? 208. During the coup attempt, it went above 300, above 350. It is slowly falling. What does this mean? It means this: you won't hear this wrong, Turkey can borrow at 2.5 times the cost of Kenya. Kenya goes to world markets, they look at Kenya and say, 'I will give you this money at this interest rate, you will pay it back.' They say, 'Your risk is 2.5 times lower than Turkey's.' Our Mehmet Şimşek gets in line and says, 'You are not a Kenya.' You heard that right. He doesn't say to them, 'You are not a Germany,' he says, 'You are not a Kenya.' He says, 'If I give to Kenya at 1 percent interest, I give to you at 2.5 percent interest because your risk is high.'

True. True, because we don't know how much our citizens are aware of what is happening in Turkey while we are inside, or how much they are aware while TRT broadcasts those lies of the world and Anadolu Agency serves those fake images, but when the world looks at Turkey, it sees this risk. It sees this place as a risky place to invest, a risky place to buy goods, and a dangerous place to live. Here, they seized a mayor's father's pension, his pension! The law is written as clear as day. You conduct the trial, and if you find a crime, you put the criminal inside. You can seize the income obtained from that crime, not all of the criminal's assets. Crime is personal. Where will you say the criminal is? There is no criminal, there is a child who is being slandered. What does the connection between the father and the child have to do with it? Are you doing something to the father for every crime of the child? But he turns around here and says, 'My judicial branches are trying to smear your son so he doesn't become president, and to make it believable, I am even seizing your pension.' They seized their 80-year-old companies, they seized their properties and assets. When he inserts the card he uses to withdraw his pension, the bank branch swallows the card; it has been seized. Such a lack of conscience.

Now they will look at this from the other side of the world and come to invest. The German automotive giant was coming to my hometown, Manisa. They made them leave because of absurd remarks. They said they found a Chinese automotive giant to replace it, but they let that one escape to Hungary too. 10,000 workers were going to come and work, and after 5 years, that employment would have remained for 10,000 Manisa workers.

And then, why did we end up like this, how did we end up like this? In the 11th month of 2025, in the 11 months of this year (excluding December), all of you, all wage earners, everyone receiving a salary paid 2.3 trillion liras in income tax. The income tax deducted from all our salaries is 2.3 trillion. The target was 1.9, more was deducted, 2.3 trillion. What about from companies? The target was 1.6 trillion that they put in the budget, they could only collect 1.2 trillion liras in taxes. Excluding the 701 billion liras in taxes that were waived.

"THIS IS THE AK PARTY'S RIGGED SYSTEM"

Imagine a country; a country of 82 million people, countless companies—you all know the top hundred—countless businesses, countless service sectors, hotels, factories, everything... All of them combined pay 1.2 trillion in taxes on their profits; now imagine the employees working alongside them, they pay twice that amount, 2.3 trillion in taxes. This is the AK Party's rigged system, my friends. Unless this system is dismantled, retirees will not be fed, and neither the minimum wage earner nor their children will ever see a smile on their faces.

DRUG AND BETTING OPERATIONS

I don't know if it's worth drawing attention to, but horrific developments have occurred. Both betting and drugs have become the country's main agenda. In fact, this has long been the country's agenda; families being torn apart, families afraid to send their children to school... Every one of our deputies, whether in Gaziantep, Manisa, Niğde, or Ankara, is constantly being grabbed by the arm by citizens complaining that schools are full of gangs and drug dealers, pleading to protect their children from drugs. Or people losing money on absurd bets, those who take money from their workplace's cash register to gamble and end up bankrupt, those who commit suicide, marriages falling apart, people running away... We have become a horrific country. The street's agenda has finally, through other circumstances, become the country's agenda.

"THEY MISSED 17,999 TIMES AND FINALLY CAUGHT HIM ON THE 18,000TH"

Referees and footballers are betting despite the ban. Imagine a referee; he has placed illegal bets 18,000 times. He officiates a match on the weekend and places illegal bets 18,000 times during the week. They couldn't catch him, they couldn't track him. They missed 17,999 times, and finally, on the 18,000th, he was exposed. There is a total decay here. And we have to be honest with ourselves; where did we get to this point with gambling and virtual betting? It started here: The National Lottery (Milli Piyango) was a state institution. When you bought a National Lottery ticket, it was clear where the profits were going. To the most important institutions like the Red Crescent, the Green Crescent, and families of martyrs... They said, 'The state shouldn't be involved in gambling, we will sell it.' We said, 'Don't do it, don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. This is a business that should be under state monopoly. Don't shake public trust, and don't kill the state's golden goose.' No, they said, they would kill it. They killed it and gave it to Demirören.

"THERE ARE 150 GAMES ON THE NATIONAL LOTTERY WEBSITE"

Now, go take a look at their website. In the past, they claimed the state was promoting gambling. What was it? A National Lottery ticket; 13+1, you had to guess 13 matches, or guess one of three. Spor Toto; or picking numbers like 'Grandma, give me a number'—they counted this as gambling. In Anatolian tradition, buying a ticket for New Year's is not considered gambling, let no one fool anyone. But they labeled the act of picking numbers as gambling. Now, the company they handed it to has collected 50 billion lira in taxes and increased its profits 15-fold. Go take a look, there are 150 types of games. The group they privatized it to is running slot machines, something the state wouldn't do. There are 150 games on the National Lottery website, including slot machines. Each has a different name. They are even taking bets on a child's marble game. Every 5 minutes, there is a 'marble race' on the National Lottery website. You go in, pick one of the marbles, place your bet, and if your marble comes in first, you get the money. Meanwhile, 9 other poor souls are losing their money there.

When these things happen—the slot machines, the various tricks, the fake horse races—if you enter one, you end up in the other. In the past, you would buy a National Lottery ticket and check it; those who checked online did so, and those who checked the newspaper did so. Now, when you go there, when you access the National Lottery site from your computer, cookies track you and flood your mobile phone with all the illegal betting sites in the world, just like that. They get your number from there and even send you text messages, the scoundrels. They say, 'This one pays one to so-and-so, I'm giving you a 2,000 lira bonus for free, and even more profit on top.' Once our person enters there, it's too late.

So, what is he doing there? Do you know why? A person cannot buy a car by working for 15 months like Hans. He would have to save for 99 months without eating, drinking, or spending a single penny to buy a car. Is that possible? Today, is it possible for a minimum wage earner, let alone a civil servant or a white-collar worker, to own a home or a car unless they inherited it from their father or win the National Lottery—which they believe they won't, so they go and play on this side instead?"

News Source: 12punto