What I would do if I were president would be to create a team that financial and business circles could say well done, found the right people and appointed them, Gul said, among other things, criticizing his former partner Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKR administration.
Abdullah Gül, one of the founding members of the ruling AKP party and 11th President of the Turkish Republic, talks about the current political and economic situation in Turkey in a Turkish newspaper.
Criticizing his former partner Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP administration, Gul states: “What I would do if I were president would be to create a team that the financial and business circles could say: ‘Well done, he found the right people.’ people and appointed them” and this would allow this group to work decisively” he says among other things.
The questions posed by columnist Mehmet Ozaktan of the Karar newspaper and Gul’s answers are as follows:
-A very negative image of governance appears, but do you think the presidential model could be properly implemented in Turkey?
Gul: “When I was president, I said that the parliamentary system is more suitable for Turkey. But I was not categorically against the presidential system. The current constitution, in fact, was made to concentrate all the powers in one person, therefore, it was not a text that was the work of Turkey’s best jurists and constitutionalists. Of course this is very sad. Because the constitution is the highest, most comprehensive and binding document. Constitutions do not only concern a period or a person, but also bind subsequent periods, governments and administrations. It should have been drafted much more carefully and based on universal criteria.”
-The governments of the AK Party, where you participated as prime minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs and President, scored very significant successes until 2011. Everyone who is against the AKP recognizes this. However, it has been lost for quite some time. What do you think could be causing this?
Gul: “When we look at our founding principles, documents, election manifestos and our perspective on democracy, law, the economy, human rights and foreign policy in our first program of government, I believe that all of these are valid and still necessary for Turkey. The main thing is to have the qualifications for each office and position. In democracies, you have the right to put people who agree with your worldviews into the highest positions within the framework of the rules, but based on their merit. This is what AKP did in the first period. We then hired and worked with people who had been trained in career occupations across the spectrum of bureaucracy and had excelled. They always did the right thing. Bureaucracy has contributed the most to our success. Frankly, I see now that there is a deviation from this. Now, there are people in important positions whose political background is more important than their professional career.”
-You are interested in the career and the value, but normally, when the AKP came to power, what people said was: “Those who will come, they will fill the place with Islamists, and they will close the doors to others.”
Gul: “There really was such an impression. However, the AKP at that time recruited capable and meritorious individuals and brought them to work. I guess that’s where his success was. There are generally two types of governance. First, before the politician takes the final decision on a matter, his own bureaucracy studies the matter thoroughly and brings the file before the politician and he decides accordingly. Another method is that you as a politician give instructions on a matter and do not give the right or wrong to discuss the rightness or wrongness of those below you who simply cover it up. If this happens, errors begin to multiply. I see these kinds of mistakes on the rise.”
-The economic crisis has reached a level that has upset all layers of society. Public opinion polls also show that if the economic situation continues, it will be difficult for President Erdogan to win the 2023 elections. The AKP, which had positive results in such crises until 2011, would not be able to manage this process in a different way? There are situations in the economy where we sometimes say why don’t they do this, if they do it will improve the situation. Why do you think they don’t?
Gul: “You are absolutely right. Let me first say that what surprises me the most is the underestimation of the risk of inflation. This is the last chance to fight inflation in a very decisive, rational and strong way. After that, there is no time until the election. So this should be the first priority. If we do not really understand what inflation is, that it is a big problem, evil, immorality, disease and public theft, it is not possible to join a merciless fight against inflation. I see that at the moment, this has not been noticed. This high inflation we are experiencing can never be defeated by various soothing tactics. These exacerbate inflation and increase its side effects.
As you said, if there is an election defeat for the government, the biggest reason for this will be the underestimation of the risk of inflation. The latest national income statements, released 2 months ago, show how the share of wages, salaries and fixed incomes in total national income has fallen drastically. And that beyond that, profits, rents, interest rates have increased. This is pretty horrible. It shows mathematically how the level of the middle class has fallen and how the income distribution has worsened. This is all due to inflation. In particular, governments concerned with religious values should monitor inflation as a top priority in their economic policies, not only to keep interest rates low, but also to protect society from other ills. While there is extraordinary mobilization in countries where inflation is 6-7 percent in the world, I believe that Turkey needs to start a bigger fight. The first condition is to establish the internal and external credibility and trust of the personnel who will fight against inflation, i.e. those responsible for the economy and finances”.
The economy is fundamentally about trust. The first concern must be the appointment of a credible and reassuring staff and the second, of course, is the preparation and public communication of a comprehensive anti-inflationary program and the political will to implement it. Sometimes I see with sadness, that some friends in the government make statements that Turkey cannot get out of the vicious circle, cannot break its chains and return to tried and tested policies. This kind of rhetoric is leading us to destruction. With a year to go before the election, we need to make a big move, the last chance, to fight inflation.”
-Does the Central Bank help the government fight inflation?
Gul: “It is very unfortunate that the central bank, whose primary duty under law is to ensure financial stability in the country, acts as if it has no such legal responsibility. Financial stability means keeping inflation at the lowest level.. If the Central Bank supports growth and employment policies without forgetting its main responsibility, then it can help the government and contribute to its success. To do the right thing, the Central Bank must be independent of political orders. This is the biggest factor in the loss of trust and credibility.”
– Elections are coming, let’s say if you were in Erdogan’s place, and you saw that the economy is going so badly, do you think you could get out of this situation?
Gul: “My first job would be to create a team where the financial and business circles could say, ‘Well done, they found the right people and brought them to work,’ and I would empower that team to work decisively. It is not the first time that the problem of inflation has been faced in the world. When we look at economic history, we see which countries faced what, which articles and theories were published, how inflation was fought before, and how those situations were overcome. I would bring a solid team that knows all this to work.
It is necessary to look at these from the perspective of Turkey’s future, beyond simply worrying about who will win or lose the elections. Because if the right things are not done, populist policies are implemented for next year’s elections, the wrong spending is done and the economic indicators turn out to be much more negative, Regardless of who is in power, Turkey will be further removed from the world and will remain back. It will also be more difficult and expensive to rebuild. Turkey loses, the next generations lose, we all lose.”
– How would you evaluate the instrumentalization of religion in politics? Or is it wrong to completely separate religion from politics, what do you think about that?
Gul: “It is unrealistic to completely exclude religion from life. The important thing here is to stay away from using religion as a tool. Because religion is a matter of belief, far beyond time and space. Politics, on the other hand, is a circular structure. There are failures as well as successes in the nature of politics, sometimes there are cases that deliberately show black and white. If you start presenting yourself as a representative of a religion or your party as a religious party, all these mistakes and shortcomings will eventually be attributed to religion. This is a very dangerous situation. It would be great irresponsibility to do the greatest harm to the teaching of this religion. What you need to do is remove whatever obstacles stand in the way of religious freedom. Beyond that, religion should never be allowed to be instrumentalized in any way. This is a very sensitive issue and there are many such examples in history.”
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