15.10.2025 15:22
The General President of the Felicity Party, Mahmut Arıkan, highlighted the decline in the purchasing power of 200 TL during his speech at the New Path Group Meeting. Stating that he could only buy a few kilos of fruits and vegetables from the market, Arıkan said, "The largest banknote in Turkey is now the greatest evidence of poverty."
The General President of the Saadet Party, Mahmut Arıkan, spoke at the Yeni Yol Group Meeting. Arıkan began his remarks by welcoming the members of parliament who joined the Freedom Fleet, Sema Silkin Ün, Mehmet Atmaca, and Necmettin Çalışkan.
"I WENT TO THE MARKET WITH THIS AND..."
Then, showing the products he could buy with the 200 TL he took out of his pocket, Arıkan said, "Last week we were at the İskitler Market in the heart of Ankara. On the same day, the President distributed 200 TL pocket money to children in Rize. 200 TL is the largest banknote in Turkey. I went to the market with this and could only buy; half a kilo of peppers, 1 kilo of apples, 1 kilo of grapes, and 1 curly lettuce. When it was released in 2009; you could buy 5 grams of gold with 200 TL, but today you can't even buy 5 of these curly lettuces. After the market, we also went to the butcher this week. We thought we would buy some minced meat with Turkey's largest banknote. Here, friends, this is how much minced meat we could buy with Turkey's largest banknote. Turkey's largest banknote, 200 TL, only buys 268 grams of minced meat. Thus, the largest banknote has become the greatest evidence of poverty," he stated.
"WHERE HAVE WE COME FROM AND WHERE ARE WE NOW"
Continuing his remarks, Arıkan noted that the number of working retirees has exceeded 2 million. "Now I ask, what will the retiree you have condemned to 16 thousand lira do, what will they eat and drink? The number of working retirees has surpassed 2 million. The number of elderly people waiting to settle in nursing homes has exceeded 11 thousand. One more question: According to Europe, what will the minimum wage earner, who works the most hours at 45 but earns the lowest salary, do, what will they feed and provide for their child? Remember what the President said, 'where have we come from and where are we now.' Indeed, this is true. In the face of this picture, there is only one thing to say; where have we come from and where are we now. The reason for this is that those who manage the economy look not to the market, but to London, Washington, and New York. It stems from the government's interest-focused economic understanding rather than production. It is a policy of serving the rich and humiliating the poor," he said.