Republican People’s Party (CHP) opposition member Kemal Kilicdaroglu pledges to boost income for working people, reform welfare and create an atmosphere of economic growth as the economy spirals downward. Kilicdaroglu also promises democratic reform and an information-based society.
Turkish authorities are pointing fingers at one another and scrambling to try to keep investors from rushing to the U.S. Dollar over the Turkish Lira. The Turkish Lira has plunged several times in recent weeks, bringing it to historic lows. This has left the Turkish President and Central Bank at odds with one another and investors skeptical about the long-term health of the Lira.
In the second quarter of this year, Turkey’s economy has grown a smaller amount than had been expected, sending the value of the Lira to its lowest estimation in over five months. The finance minister has released a warning suggesting that the estimated growth of 4% could be missed this year.
The EU – whose most powerful members manifestly do not want to extend EU membership to Turkey – is once again going through the ritual of reconsidering the country’s application for membership. There are huge pluses and glaring minuses involved in any future Turkish membership; this dance still has a long way to run, it seems.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that while she would support an agreement to reopen talks with Turkey about joining the European Union, human rights and democratic values are “non-negotiable” elements for accession into the Union and European leaders cannot “pretend that nothing had happened” in light of violent crackdowns in anti-government protests across Turkey.
After a sharp downturn in 1999-2001, Turkey’s economy managed to grow by 5 percent per year on average from 2002 to 2012 – despite global and regional crises. There is however nothing flashy about the country’s rise; its success was simply based on getting the fundamentals right, like rebuilding the banking sector, getting the budget under control, and investing heavily where it counts: infrastructure, education, health, and technology.
Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday upgraded Turkey’s sovereign credit rating from BB to BB+, placing the nation one level below an investment-grade rating and setting the economic outlook to stable.
In a statement, cited by the Financial Times, S&P said that the upgrade reflected Turkey’s gradual rebalancing of their economy; and lauded the Turkish government for making progress made in solving the Kurdish problem.
France on Tuesday said it was ready to resume EU accession talks with Turkey, marking a warming of ties after a long period of bilateral tension under former President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Speaking at the sidelines of a conference on Libya on Tuesday, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius told his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu that Paris is ready to unblock European Union membership talks on the subject of regional policy.
The Mediterranean has joined the shale game, but as most of Europe’s Mediterranean countries drag their feet, all eyes are on Israel, Turkey, and Algeria.
For Israel, it will be a slow road without the majors.
For Algeria, it’s full speed ahead, in theory—but the foreign interest is just dabbling for now due to a lack of shale infrastructure.
For Turkey, the situation is more promising thanks to a renewed interest by the majors and a near-perfect blend of good governance and attractive fiscals. Here’s what the playing field looks like:
Turkey’s deputy prime minister Ali Babacan has admitted to giving Iran billions of dollars worth of gold in exchange for energy supplies, reported CNN on Thursday, though the Turkish government insists that there remains no conflict between Ankara and Washington over their actions.
