Erdogan pledges to continue to serve the people without letup

Campaigning in the Aegean provinces of Burdur and Kutahya ahead of March 29 local elections, a little over a week away, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that thanks to the efforts of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) over the last seven years, Turkey now commands attention and respect worldwide. "Turkey has become a country admired and praised worldwide for its remarkable contributions to world peace," he said. "Thanks to the government's efforts, it became a non-permanent UN Security Council member and is one of the co-chairs of the Alliance of Civilizations." Criticizing the economic shortcomings of the coalition government of the early 2000s, which included the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Erdogan said, "We inherited a 30 percent-plus inflation rate from the past government and turned it into 7.7 percent, despite the ongoing economic crisis. During the term of the coalition government of the early 2000s, 16 banks went bankrupt, costing the people nearly $40 billion. Now there are no failed banks, despite the impact of the global economic crisis." He added that they had also made Turkish currency more valuable and trustworthy for the people, and cut interest rates for Treasury borrowing sharply. "Be honest and speak the truth," Erdogan said. He added they also paid back salary cuts of millions of civil servants and workers, which had been made in past years for purposes such as saving money for a housing fund. Touching on the economic crisis, Erdogan said that the government has been closely following the crisis since its earliest signs. "Nobody needs fear," he added. "To date the government has announced 47 different sets of measures to counter the crisis, and will continue to take all necessary measures." Citing a recent government tax cut to stimulate sales of appliances, houses and cars, Erdogan said the cuts had boosted domestic sales. Erdogan also accused opposition parties of exploiting the crisis for political gain. Urging employers not to lay off their workers due to the crisis, Erdogan said the government will give them financial support for this. Erdogan also pledged that they would determinedly continue to serve the people without any letup, citing his party's slogan, "No stopping, keep moving ahead."