Turkish parties large-handed in election pledges
The election pledges of Turkish parties strain the limits of both the imagination and the budget.
Economic pledges stand out in the election manifestos that Turkey’s political parties have announced ahead of the Nov. 1 snap polls, called after the June 7 elections produced a political deadlock. Targeting a wide range of social groups — retirees, minimum-wage earners, farmers, women, the young, the jobless and the indebted — the promises strain both the imagination and the limits of the country’s budget.
Representing two bulky vote reservoirs, the 11 million retirees and 5 million minimum-wage earners are accorded special attention. Unlike the June 7 polls, when only the opposition made pledges to these two groups, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is in play this time.
Other promises include the wiping out of credit card debts, an opportunity for young men to do the obligatory military service during summer vacations, discounted airplane tickets and reduced fees for the issuance of passports. The election manifestos abound with financial incentives, up for grabs to anyone in return for votes. With bigger parties greatly loosening the purse strings, the smaller ones often come up with overblown pledges in the comfort of knowing they will never have to deliver them. Some, for instance, have pledged to raise the minimum wage five times to 5,000 Turkish lira ($1,700), others to abolish the offside rule in soccer and widen the distance between the goalposts.
The generosity in election pledges is a Turkish political classic. Two decades have passed since a leading party made the memorable promise of “two keys” — a car and a home — for every citizen. No one has ever asked where the keys are.
