Fatih Altayli: When it comes to expensive cars, the sky's the limit for local mayors

The Prime Minister is trying to reduce public spending. There is an attempt to close the holes created by this spending with the ever increasing taxes. But this is really all just talk. While citizens are tightening their belts, those sitting in the comfortable armchairs by way of citizens' votes are spending like crazy in order to get more comfortable. You want an example, I'll give you an example. While Istanbul's streets are in a terrible state, city mayors spend with carefree abandon. The Mayor of Pendik ordered an A8 Long 4.2 Quattro from Dogus Automotive in Kartal this week. The price was 300,000 YTL. In order not to attract undue attention, the municipality is putting it under the name of a side organization, Pentas AS. The Mayor's current car is an Audi A6 Quattro-not a bad car. Its pricetag is 70 thousand Euro. In the garage of the same Mayor, there is a almost new, specially constructed, leather interior, boasting both refrigerator and television, Hyundai Starex. It's parked there without being used. He also has two Mercedes C200s. But that's not enough. Spending billions, he has bought an Audi A8. But since Pendik has purchased the luxurious car, will be Eyup be satisfied? The contest has started. The Mayor of Eyup has gone and bought a 145 thousand Euro VW Phaeton. It must be a family tradition. His father drove luxury cars, he doesn't want to fall behind. And he must also be competing with the Prime MInister, who has a VW Phaeton himself. The Mayor of Gebze bought two Mercedes E270s. One for himself, one for his wife. Each one at a cost of 70 thousand Euro. The family's spending on cars is 140 thousand Euro. The Istanbul Mayor, in February, bought two Audi A6 3.0s Multitronics. But of course if the Pendik Mayor uses an A6, then much more important Istanbul Mayor couldn't also. But these cars weren't for him anyway. They were for top officials in the Municipality. Each one, 70 thousand Euro. In order not to make it look like it was for the Municipality, the papers for these cars put the owners as "Belbim," which stands for Istanbul Municipality Information Procedures. So you see, our municipalities may not have the time for a lot of every day details, but they sure appreciate the high life. Â