Erdogan destroys Turkish economy

Turkey continues to suffer from the Erdogan’s election promises. At the height of the presidential race, Recep Erdogan tried to manipulate the market in order to enhance his standing. He promised to abandon the US dollar, thereby strengthening the lira, and to make every effort to turn Turkey into a global financial center. In general, the former presidential candidate made a lot of promising statements. At the same time, the local central bank turned from an independent financial regulator to an authority which is ready to attend to the president's every need.

While it is quite easy to lead ordinary citizens astray, the confidence of foreign investors should be won. Apart from its independence, the central bank has lost investors’ trust. In addition, promises are not enough, especially when the country faces economic problems. This is the way things are moving now in Turkey. We can see the opposite effect of the government's intervention: the economy lacks investment, the demand for foreign currency among the population and business community is growing rapidly, and the lira is getting weaker. An analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman said that he did not expect a massive increase in investment flows until policymakers became more market-oriented. Also, he added that Turkey had already proved its indifference to the situation when real money could not be hedged properly. So, the authoritarian regime can impose censorship, block the Internet, and suppress the opposition, but it cannot stimulate growth of the economy and national currency.

It remains only to accuse the whole world of wanting to bring Turkey to heel. Notably, this country is free of sanctions. It does not have to face economic blockades and deal with limiting access to capital markets. Apparently, due to the political pressure on financial institutions, investors are not inspired by Turkey. So, the local economy unaffected by any sanctions is being destroyed by Erdogan himself.