Kemal Kilicdaroglu, backed by a six-party opposition alliance, says in an exclusive interview to financial daily Naftemporiki that if he wins, he will bring freedom and democracy to Turkey, whatever it takes. “We will beat an authoritarian regime through democratic means. As we promised to the Turkish people, spring will come to every aspect of life and into the life of every citizen. We have no hesitations about the election results; we will win”, point out President Kilicdaroglou. “First, we will restore democracy and the rule of law. But our goal is clear: we will establish economic stability, re-establish the rule of law, and work to restore democracy to our country. Turkish citizens deserve a government that works for them and to live prosperously. The Nation Alliance partners and I will work tirelessly together to achieve a just, free and prosperous future”
Concerning relations with the EU and especially Greece, Kemal Kilicdaroglou said that “we wish to revive accession talks but also to improve our legal and regulatory standards as well as insert stability, mutual confidence, and understanding into our relations. The Feb. 6 earthquake once again showed how intertwined our destinies are as Greece and Türkiye…We will use our advantageous geopolitical position, coupled with our principles- and international law-based approach and domestic tranquility and prosperity, to mediate and resolve regional disputes. Our stable and steady economic growth, which will focus on creating more value-added products and services, will strengthen our international economic relations, especially with the European Union.
Kemal Kilicdaroglou says that “we want to become a part of the civilized world,” he said. “We want free media and complete judicial independence. Erdogan does not think that way. He wants to be more authoritarian. The difference between us and Erdogan is the difference between black and white. We will end the economic crisis and reform the system to avoid future crises and mismanagement.We will stamp out corruption and retrieve the public funds stolen by the cronies and oligarchs.
Speaking about climate change, President Kilicdaroglou send a message to Greece: «Ι know my Greek brothers and sisters have been feeling the effects of climate change. Hotter summers, more and more wildfires, changing seasonal patterns. We are feeling them here as well, across the Aegean. These problems will take further root as time goes by if we do not act.
The Mediterranean region ecosystem will experience the most severe effects of the global climate crisis according to experts. We are talking about 500 million people sharing the same ecosystem. Therefore, we hope to lead the countries of the Mediterranean Union in ushering a new era of collaboration and cooperation».
The full text of President`s Kemal Kilicdaroglu interview to Greek financial daily Naftemporiki and Michalis Psilos :
Sayın Cumhurbaşkanı Kılıçdaroğlu,
Thank you very much for your interview to Naftemporiki.
Public opinion in Greece, but also throughout the world, is watching with great interest, Türkiye’s road towards the May 14th elections.
You are the candidate of six opposition parties for the Presidency of the country. Polls show that you have a clear lead over current President Erdogan. What is your estimation?
The Nation Alliance partners and I will take office after winning the May 14 elections. We will beat an authoritarian regime through democratic means. As we promised to the Turkish people, spring will come to every aspect of life and into the life of every citizen. We have no hesitations about the election results; we will win. But this electoral success will not only include our voters who vote for the Nation Alliance. It will also be the success for our citizens who will not vote for us. Because on 14 May, a new era will begin in which no one is alienated, made into an enemy, or excluded. A new understanding of administration will assume office that prioritizes the welfare, happiness, and peace of every single citizen.
What will your victory in the elections means, for Turkey?
My team is ready, the plans that my team will implement are ready. We shared with the public the steps that we will take in the first 100 days. We know the steps we will take and the results we will obtain in the first year, the first three years, and in five years. We are going to solve the five basic issues facing Türkiye that we state as democracy, education, foreign policy, the economy, and social peace.
“The Economy’s Champions League”
Within that framework, I can say: The team that I have put together to restore macroeconomic sanity-I like to call these friends “the Economy’s Champions League”-are waiting for the elections to be over as soon as possible.
We have multiple aims for the next five years and beyond:
First, we will restore democracy and the rule of law.We will end the economic crisis and reform the system to avoid future crises and mismanagement.We will stamp out corruption and retrieve the public funds stolen by the cronies and oligarchs. We will institute a principled approach to foreign policy that both looks after Turkish national interests but also cooperates with other countries. A victory for the forces of democracy, freedom, and justice in Turkey will be an excellent way to celebrate the centennial of our Republic.
What will be your initiatives in the first 100 days of your presidency?
Returning to macroeconomic rationality, our policies will quickly restore the confidence of domestic producers and consumers as well as that of the international market. We will be able to avert the deep recession and uncertainties associated with high unemployment and high inflation that the current system brings to us.
Our first step in this direction will be to restore the independence of the Central Bank and place monetary policy in the hands of competent and honest officials.
“We will reduce the tax burden on the shoulders of the workers”
Some additional measures that we will take in the first few months of my administration: We will reduce the tax burden on the shoulders of the workers; we will appoint 100,000 teachers who are waiting for tenure; We will increase the pensions of retirees. We will put an end to waste in the public sector, preventing waste will start from the very top; the 16 presidential planes will be sold and firefighting planes will be purchased. The crime of insulting the President will be annulled, freedom of speech will be protected and expanded. The Political Ethics Law will be enacted. Politics will be purified from corruption; the Asset Recovery Office will be established in order to bring back the revenues obtained from corruption and smuggled abroad. Free meals will be offered to all students at all public schools. Family Support Insurance Law (“Aile Destekleri Sigortası”) will be put into effect. A social assistance system befitting human dignity will be established and no one will go hungry or homeless.
Moreover, the disaster management system, which proved itself to be inadequate after the Feb. 6 earthquakes, will be restructured under the Ministry of Urban Planning and Disaster Management. The homes of earthquake survivors will be built free of charge.
These are only a few of the most important goals of our agenda for the first 100 days of my presidency. But our goal is clear: we will establish economic stability, re-establish the rule of law, and work to restore democracy to our country. Turkish citizens deserve a government that works for them and to live prosperously. The Nation Alliance partners and I will work tirelessly together to achieve a just, free and prosperous future.
Are you afraid of some difficulties, given the different ideological approaches of the six parties that support your candidacy?
We agree on all of the most fundamental and vital issues with the Nation Alliance partners: That we must re-establish a state that does not discriminate based on ideology, religion, language, race, gender or identity. To that end, the political pluralism that the Nation Alliance offers to our people is the surest guarantee that we will build a genuine, democratic political system that works for everyone and without discrimination.
As the Nation Alliance we unveiled our government program on Jan. 30 covering nine major areas, 75 subtitles with more than 2,000 targets. The Common Policies’ Consensus (“Ortak Mutabakat Metni”) is comprised of economic policies, foreign policy, education, and social policies for placing Turkey into the league of high-income countries in the world.
We have demonstrated to the Turkish people that we can come together, work together and agree on how to restore democracy, the rule of law, and prosperity to our country.
We agree on fundamental issues and policies. However, of course, we do have divergent opinions with our Nation Alliance partners. This is the necessary divergence that makes democracies stronger, fosters dialogue and deliberation. Our differences make the ties that bind us stronger.
Moreover, my presidency and the diversity of our Nation Alliance partners will ensure that the state will no longer try to force a viewpoint, ideology, or religious interpretation on the citizenry. Likewise, we will not force the Turkish civil service to become subservient to our every whim.
“Peace at home, peace in the world”
Mr. President, Turkish republic is celebrating its 100 years this year. The traditional foreign policy of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal, was based on the doctrine “Yurtta Sulh, Cihanda Sulh”. Will your election reinstate this doctrine?
“Peace at Home, Peace in the World” will make a glorious comeback in Turkish foreign policy. This maxim means that our country’s peace, security, and prosperity depended on developments in our neighborhood as well as the world more broadly. It gave the Republic of Turkey`s “raison d’état”—that all government agencies, institutions, and leaders should work to protect and defend peace at home and abroad.
My presidency and the Nation Alliance will restore the prestige of our country in the international realm, which has weakened over the years due to the undermining of institutions and principles.
In practical terms, “peace at home, peace in the world”, what will mean:
– We will use our advantageous geopolitical position, coupled with our principles- and international law-based approach and domestic tranquility and prosperity, to mediate and resolve regional disputes.
– Our stable and steady economic growth, which will focus on creating more value-added products and services, will strengthen our international economic relations, especially with the European Union.
– Speaking of relations with the EU and especially Greece, we wish to revive accession talks but also to improve our legal and regulatory standards as well as insert stability, mutual confidence, and understanding into our relations. The Feb. 6 earthquake once again showed how intertwined our destinies are as Greece and Türkiye.
– The broader Mediterranean region is especially important to us because we see many new opportunities for collaboration and multilateral relationships. We have a population of 500 million people in this region who live in a single ecosystem and who are especially prone to the effects of climate change. Through the Union for the Mediterranean, we want to roll out and implement a common agenda that will mitigate the worst effects of climate change through common projects.
According to your program, the Central Bank will no longer be at the behest of politics, the Treasury and Finance will implement predictable economic policies, the independence of the judiciary will be ensured? What will you do in this framework?
Our first step in this direction will be to restore the independence of the Central Bank and place monetary policy into the hands of capable and honest bureaucrats, of which our country has many.
By building trust in domestic and international markets, emphasizing honest and transparent government and the rule of law, we will begin to attract new foreign direct investment and connect it with our own business owners and entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, we will start tracking down and recovering the money stolen from our people. Our plan not only helps us recover from the current economic crisis, but also prevents larger crises in the future.
“We need an economy that serves everyone”.
There are criticisms that President Erdogan uses things, like Black Sea gas, TOGG, the Anadolu landing ship, the commissioning of the first nuclear reactor of the Mersin Akkuyu, as political material in the elections. What will you do in these areas when you will be elected?
We support upgrading and transforming the capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces. In fact, we are not happy about the negative of the current economic crisis on our defense and security budget. We will increase the budget and invest in our military capabilities and security.
We also support civilian infrastructure efforts provided that they are placed on a rational basis and the costs are not too unbearable for our people.
But there are these so-called “mega projects” that have created an undue burden on the treasury and have not benefited the citizens—the fact that many of these ventures are incomplete speaks to that. Many of these projects have had a great negative impact on the ecosystems as well.
Instead of serving the people, too many of the projects serve a handful of the rich. The middle class has evaporated. Rent-seeking crony-capitalism has wreaked havoc inTürkiye. We need an economy that serves everyone.
So, as we place macroeconomic management on firm footing, we will move on to the important work of directing public funds and private investments into rational, feasible projects that aim to benefit the public.
An ambitious and multi-pronged strategy
We will have an ambitious and multi-pronged strategy on that front: We will accelerate our industrial transformation in a way that contributes to Türkiye’s prosperity while remaining climate- and disaster-resilient. To that end, we plan on creating 9 special economic regions, 17 production centers, and 50 manufacturing bases across 74 provinces, focusing on development projects that will integrate globally oriented and value-added production chains and services. We will boost industrial productivity as we design and build the production lines, intermediary goods, spare parts, and the final products and services that reach global customers.
Along the same vein, we will change how we produce energy (especially through solar and wind), store and distribute water, and grow agricultural products and especially food.
Energy is particularly critical: Türkiye holds the second highest solar energy potential in Europe, and we are among the top countries in the entire world in wind potential. These factors give us a unique advantage and would enable us to lead the Mediterranean world into building cheaper and more renewable energy plants while generating massive new business opportunities and employment.
One of your targets Mr.President is to establish an atmosphere of confidence that will attract investors from the EU and the US to Türkiye?
Yes, and we also will be open to partnerships from all around the world. Our aim is to create an environment of economic stability, credibility and rebuild trust that will attract investors. Taking into account the projects I mentioned earlier, we hope to achieve at least 5.5 percent annual growth in the first 4 years of our administration, and to achieve a real annual growth target of 6.2 percent in the next 6 years.
We expect a revenue of 785 billion dollars from the investments we will undertake in 10 years, which will double the Turkish economy and increase the per capita income to over $20,000 USD. In this process, we will reduce inflation to single digits in the first two years of our administration.
We will stop any illegal entry into the country
Honorable Mr. President, you have said that you will revise the EU-Türkiye agreement on the immigration issue. In what direction are you thinking of doing it?
Türkiye continues to host the largest number of asylum seekers in the world. As soon as I come to power, we will stop any illegal entry into the country. Securing our borders will be a priority. The irregular migration process has wasted Türkiye’s resources for years and has had catastrophic socioeconomic consequences—not to mention sowing the seeds of social tension.
To address these problems, we will initiate a return and reintegration process for Syrian asylum seekers. We will, however, do this in a peaceful and safe way. These people came to our country fleeing war, persecution, and famine. Therefore, we must first ensure the safe turn of Syrian asylum seekers to their country; we will fulfill our duty to humanity and in a spirit of good neighborliness. We are adamant in creating permanent solutions that enable asylum seekers to rebuild their lives in peace and dignity. To do this, we will first meet with the Syrian government and begin multilateral talks. Meanwhile, to ensure the safety of those leaving Türkiye, a protocol will be signed with the Syrian government and the United Nations will oversee the asylum seekers’ safe return.
Moreover, just as we cannot expect people to return to an unsafe country, we cannot expect them to return to cities in ruins. Therefore, reconstructing Syrian cities and infrastructure will be a top priority; we will do so by collaborating with the European Union and other countries. Turkish businessmen and contractors will take the lead in this reconstruction process.
In the medium and long term, resettling Syrians in a safe, conflict-free Syria will be much less costly for the EU, Türkiye, and the entire world.
But we have a bigger issue ahead of us that will necessitate genuine international collaboration and hard work.
The Mediterranean region is warming 20% faster than the rest of the world. Because of this, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers run the risk of drying up in the next 20 years. This means not only that agriculture will be damaged in southeast Türkiye and that our hydroelectric power plants will lose their function. It also means that more than 60 million people living in our southern neighbors Syria and Iraq will face drought and famine. What will happen when these two mighty rivers dry up? Climate refugees from Syria and Iraq will flock to Türkiye, and from there on to Europe.
“We will work together for water, for peace”
We have a clearly laid-out plan to address this issue. We will continue to share our existing water resources efficiently and fairly, and to support the adoption of efficient water management techniques in Syria and Iraq. But most importantly, we will start building water desalination plants that work with solar energy. We will invest in green energy and industrial transformation. That means thousands of new businesses and dozens of new industries and millions of new jobs for people who would otherwise become climate refugees. We will work together; for water, for peace. We have to work together.
I know my Greek brothers and sisters have been feeling the effects of climate change. Hotter summers, more and more wildfires, changing seasonal patterns. We are feeling them here as well, across the Aegean. These problems will take further root as time goes by if we do not act.
The Mediterranean region ecosystem will experience the most severe effects of the global climate crisis according to experts. We are talking about 500 million people sharing the same ecosystem. Therefore, we hope to lead the countries of the Mediterranean Union in ushering a new era of collaboration and cooperation.
Sayın Cumhurbaşkanı Kılıçdaroğlu, Naftemporiki ile yaptığınız röportaj için çok teşekkür ederim.
Michalis Psilos
Director General of Naftemporiki.gr
