Ahead of each general election, Turkish governments typically loosen the purse strings to offer economic benefits to voters, mainly pensioners, minimum wage earners, farmers and small-business owners. Still, the incentives package announced this week ahead of critical parliamentary and presidential polls on June 24 is unprecedented in recent history. The scope of the package is so broad that it is of interest to virtually the entire population.
One of the most hotly debated items in the package, announced April 30, is the promise for two bonuses to pensioners this year. The plan has conjured up the pledges the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) made ahead of the June 2015 elections, including similar bonuses for retirees and a notable increase in the minimum wage. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) sought to discredit the pledges as deceptive and inapplicable due to budget constraints. Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek even said he was ready to vote for the CHP if it managed to pull it off. Since its re-election, however, the AKP has appeared willing to implement the same CHP proposals it had so disparaged. First it raised the minimum wage and now, less than two months ahead of the polls, it has decided to give pensioners bonuses of 1,000 liras (about $240) for the two main Islamic holidays this year, in June and August.