Even Bourgeois Class' Purchasing Power Decreasing İn Turkey: Top Banker

Even the purchasing power of Turkey's comfortable middle classes has decreased, İş Bank Chairman Ersin Özince has told daily Cumhuriyet, stressing that abstract figures "don't matter unless they are for the good of the public."

"Politicians are always talking about banks. Instead, look at the cost of tomatoes and potatoes. I am a member of the so-called bourgeois class, but even my purchasing power has decreased" said Özince.

In the same interview, the İş Bank head also expressed longing for the old days when state institutions worked independently of politics, praising the current parliament's coalition arithmetic.

On Turkey's current situation, Özince said it was better than in the pre-election period, but stressed the necessity of supporting "democratic lifestyles and institutions."

On the economic policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, he said that in recent years Turkey has failed to evaluate how it should forge ahead and gain a "competitive advantage."

He also said more effective "career planning" was needed to solve the country's chronic youth unemployment problem.

"Unless we put forward a true diagnosis of the cost of living, we will not be able to solve the problem," said Özince, adding that the rapid urbanization over the past 10 years had created "chaos in terms of prosperity."

Commenting on the relationship between politics and economics, he said politics should be done primarily with economics in the foreground.

"Rightfully, our people do not want to sit in the darkness or feel hungry anymore. Turkey is growing and we have to decide which part of us will grow," said Özince.

"We must stop consumption without production," he also said, stressing the necessity of finding a solution to the problem of high prices beyond simple pay increases.

(Photo) - Istanbul