Bekiroğlu's reaction to economic management: Retirees crushed under a rain of hikes

Future Party Deputy Chairman Av. Rumi Bekiroğlu made a harsh statement on his social media account regarding the hikes implemented as of the beginning of July. Bekiroğlu, stating that bridge and motorway tolls were increased by a serious rate of 18 percent with the entry of the new month, emphasized that the real shock came from the health sector. He characterized the excessive 246 percent increase in examination participation fees as a factor making it difficult for citizens to access health services. He also expressed that a similar upward movement would be observed in fuel prices, and that these affected the average economy and especially low-income segments negatively. Bekiroğlu criticized the current picture harshly by shouting out the fact that these increases eroded purchasing power and deepened the citizen's livelihood difficulty day by day.

Drawing attention to the fact that retirees stand out as the most prominent group among the victims of the hikes, Bekiroğlu argued that the developments contained a great injustice. He stated that it was a systemic issue to implement price updates that directly increase the cost of living before any improvement or raise is made to retirement pensions. He conveyed that the situation of retirees and low-income citizens, whose expenditures increased rapidly despite no increase in their income, made the situation more difficult and damaged the sense of social justice. He stated that it was unacceptable for this segment expecting a salary raise to be left alone with price increases unprotected against inflation. This situation leads retirees to become more financially fragile and forces them to allocate more resources for their basic needs.

He emphasized that the hikes made to fuel prices, especially gasoline and diesel, are a factor triggering general inflation by increasing transportation costs. Bekiroğlu stated that increasing fees in a broad spectrum covering basic life needs and transportation expenses, not just a few items, affected the general public. He expressed that for low-income and fixed-income citizens, these increases created impossible-to-compensate deficits in their budgets and lowered their living standards. He criticized that the managed economy policies operated by imposing burdens on the citizen rather than auditing price increases. He drew attention to the fact that the citizen's inability to find room to breathe in the face of increasing expenditures has become a factor disrupting social peace and increasing social tension.

In the final parts of his statement, Bekiroğlu further sharpened his criticisms towards the economic management and continued his criticism with an ironic tone. With the expression “We are waiting for the rest...”, he gave the message that the hikes creating the actual situation would not be limited to this and that new hikes were on the way. With this expression, he clearly conveyed his warning that the government's economic policies need to be reviewed, otherwise the citizen would be subjected to heavier burdens. He stated that the current picture was a process that aggravated the load on the citizen's back rather than lightening it. Bekiroğlu's critical approach towards the ruling party's economic management emerged as part of his political activities carried out with the responsibility of being an opposition party member.

The clearest message he highlighted in his social media post was the statement “Retirees haven't received a raise yet”. This headline was used to emphasize the disconnect between the expectation of a raise for retirement pensions and the recent hikes. It revealed how defenseless retirees remained against increasing living costs and service fees. He argued that with the news of a salary increase, the experienced hikes should be compensated, but this was not possible with the current policy. Besides being a political discourse, it aimed to bring the economic dilemma retirees are in and the injustice they experience to the public agenda. Bekiroğlu's statement was evaluated as a reflection of the economic pressure experienced by low and fixed-income segments.