DEVA Party leader Ali Babacan makes statement regarding school attacks

DEVA Party leader Ali Babacan made statements regarding the recent school attacks in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş, as well as the national agenda.

Expressing his deep sorrow over the school attacks in Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa, Babacan stated the following:

"THIS GOVERNING MENTALITY MUST CHANGE"

'When we look at the nature of these events, our concerns for the future are even greater than our current sorrow. The political polarization and social tension generated in our country have reached levels that threaten our security in every aspect of life. Individual armament is spreading uncontrollably. Many people in traffic are driving their vehicles ready to explode at the smallest spark. There is no longer equality of opportunity in education and the workforce for young people. Out of our 24 million young people between the ages of 15-34, 6.5 million are neither in education nor in employment. Young children are being dragged into crimes such as drugs, virtual gambling, and gang formation. Turkey urgently needs a 'cultural policy.' But above all, there is a need for the language of politics to soften. This governing mentality, which constantly produces enemies when it cannot produce success and tries to stay in power by straining and polarizing society, must change.'

"WHEN THE ELECTION WILL BE HELD DEPENDS ON WHEN IT SUITS ERDOĞAN"

Stating that the possibility of an early election, which is being discussed more and more in public opinion, is actually a constitutional necessity for AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Babacan said, 'Currently, either Erdoğan can make the election decision alone, or the Parliament can make an early election decision. However, Erdoğan's candidacy again depends on the Parliament making an early election decision with 360 votes. We can easily assume that he wants to be a candidate again. Therefore, it is technically necessary for this election to be held with a parliamentary decision and to be somewhat early. When I say early, it doesn't necessarily mean six months; even if they move the election forward by one week, it is called an early election. However, when the election will actually be held depends on when it suits Erdoğan's interests. If he finds the general conditions in the country suitable, he can hold it at an earlier time. The real calculation is this: how many years or months of the current term will he be willing to burn to win five years?'

"THE REAL REASON FOR HIGH INTEREST RATES IS TO ATTRACT FOREIGN CURRENCY"

Regarding the course of the economy and the exchange rate, Babacan said, 'They are keeping the exchange rate stable by offering very high interest rates. By offering the highest interest rates in the world, foreign currency is being attracted to Turkey from abroad, and the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves are being used to suppress the exchange rate. The real reason for high interest rates is not to lower inflation in Turkey, but to attract foreign currency from abroad. Those who bring dollars or euros to Turkey are making huge amounts of money that they could not earn anywhere else in the world and then leaving. So, who is profiting here? Those who bring their foreign currency from abroad and earn interest. Who is losing? Our SMEs and industrialists who are trying to produce and export with their own sweat and effort,' he said.

Babacan continued as follows:

'When you consider the mistakes the government is in and the network of interests formed around it as a package, we find it very difficult for the government to turn back from these mistakes. On the other hand, when we look at the main opposition, we see that a different strategy has been followed, especially after the 2023 elections. Therefore, as we head towards the upcoming elections, we find the construction of a new alternative very important. In other words, the construction of a new alternative that is at a distance from both the government and the main opposition is essential. Turkey is in dire need of this right now. At the very center of this new structure, there must be an approach that says people first, puts law and justice at the center, and acts with the claim of clean governance. We find the construction of a new alternative with political parties and independent politicians with whom we can meet on common ground to be very valuable in the coming period.

"DEVELOPMENT IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY COMES WITH COMPETITION"

Development in the defense industry comes with competition. You must always create a fair competition and rivalry environment among your own firms. The state should provide support in a fair, transparent manner based on equality of opportunity. Because the defense industry cannot develop without state support. However, the state should give this support to many firms and make them compete. Our conditioned firms that are well-accustomed to competition within the country will also be successful in the international arena.

There was James Wolfensohn, the former President of the World Bank. He was an 80-year-old man who traveled the whole world in his private jet. Near the end of his 8-year term, he called me and said, 'I want to live in Istanbul for a few years.' At that time, in every country we went to, young Europeans would come to us and say they wanted to intern and work in Turkey. An 80-year-old man who knew every part of the world wanted to live in Istanbul at the end of his life. We talk about young people going to Europe today, but we lived through years when young people were dying to come to Turkey.'