28.08.2026 17:10
New Party Chairman Özgür Özel gave a striking response to a citizen's question about Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during a visit to tradesmen in Kocaeli. Özel, conveying Kılıçdaroğlu's situation at the headquarters building in Ankara with humorous and attention-grabbing remarks, said that Kılıçdaroğlu is "counting his numbered days."
As part of his provincial visits, New Party Chairman Özgür Özel, who went to Kocaeli, met with tradesmen and citizens at Karamürsel City Square after his meeting with industrialists in Gebze. Özel, who was met with great interest, made headlines with his witty responses about the declining purchasing power of tradesmen, the transformation of professions, and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
"WHAT IS KILIÇDAROĞLU FATHER DOING?"
During the visit, Özel chatted briefly with a citizen he encountered at a health center, facing the question, "What happened to Kılıçdaroğlu father? What is he doing in Ankara?" Smiling in response, Özel said, "He is sitting in our building as he pleases. He is counting down his remaining days."
"PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS HAVE BEEN PROLETARIANIZED"
Visiting a tradesman who has been a tailor in Karamürsel for many years, Özgür Özel noted that the number of tailors in the district has dropped to one-twentieth of what it was in the past. Pointing to the global transformation of professions, Özel said: "There is something called the proletarianization of professional occupations all over the world. The tailor of the old days now sews hems under exhaust fumes on the -2nd floor of a shopping mall."
"THE RETIREE'S PURCHASING POWER HAS DROPPED FROM 8 QUARTER GOLD COINS TO 2"
Özel also met with a former teacher who has been continuing his father's trade as a tradesman for 10 years, explaining the decline in purchasing power in terms of quarter gold coins. Stating that purchasing power and business volume have shrunk, Özel made the following assessment: "A retiree could buy 8 quarter gold coins with his salary 20 years ago. Even though it dropped to 5 ten years ago, it has now dropped to 2. Business also declines accordingly, in parallel with the citizens' purchasing power."