CHP’s Başarır Slams 2026 Budget Plan: “Every Year It Turns Out Worse Than Forecasts”

Opposition lawmaker criticizes Vice President Yılmaz’s budget optimism, citing job losses, shrinking agriculture, and growing inequality

CHP parliamentary group deputy chair Ali Mahir Başarır harshly criticized Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz’s statements on the government’s draft 2026 budget, arguing that the new plan fails to address the country’s deepening social and economic challenges.

Yılmaz had said the upcoming budget was prepared “with an approach that supports investment, employment, production, and exports.” But according to Başarır, the government’s claims of progress are inconsistent with the realities faced by ordinary citizens.

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“Agricultural land is shrinking, unemployment exceeds 12 million”

“Cevdet Yılmaz says the budget promotes investment and jobs,” Başarır said. “But in the last 23 years, Türkiye has lost 2.5 million hectares of agricultural land, the textile sector has shifted to Egypt, unemployment has surpassed 12 million, and over 10,000 companies have shut down this year alone. Exporters are also struggling,” he added.

“People can’t afford to live decently”

Referring to Yılmaz’s statement that the government is “enhancing its capacity to meet citizens’ needs with a human-centered approach,” Başarır countered:
“Retirees and minimum wage earners live below the hunger line, patients can’t find essential medicines, and according to TÜİK data, 86 out of every 100 citizens cannot access decent living conditions. Where is the human-centered policy in this?”

“Infrastructure progress? People can’t even buy a bus ticket”

Responding to claims that Türkiye has made significant progress in transportation, energy, healthcare, and digital infrastructure, Başarır argued that everyday life tells a different story:
“Citizens can’t find bus tickets during holidays, face heating problems in winter, and struggle with poor mobile and internet connections. These are the daily realities of the people, not the polished numbers of the government.”

“There is no economic success, only persistently high inflation”

Başarır also dismissed Yılmaz’s claim that Türkiye’s economic performance reflects political stability:
“The government says there is stability, but inflation remains extremely high and continues to rise. There is no success here—only economic deterioration that the people are forced to bear,” he said.

2026 budget plan foresees record deficit and interest payments

According to Başarır, the 2026 draft budget projects revenues of TL16.2 trillion and expenditures of TL18.9 trillion, implying a TL2.7 trillion budget deficit. “Even more worrying,” he said, “TL2.74 trillion will be spent on interest payments alone—higher than the entire budget deficit. And the worst part is, every year it turns out worse than the forecasts.”

Economists note that while the government continues to emphasize investment and employment, the growing cost of debt servicing is crowding out social spending, raising concerns that 2026 may see further pressure on low-income households and reduced fiscal flexibility.