Why Turkey’s new economic program failed to impress

Source:al Monitor Date:26Sep2018

A comment which is right on the mark:

According to the program, the risks stemming from Syria, the US Federal Reserve’s rate hikes and especially “the US administration’s direct targeting of the Turkish economy and the Turkish lira” curbed capital flows to Turkey and pushed up the country’s risk premium, resulting in sharp increases in interest and foreign exchange rates.

For close observers of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), such diagnoses are hardly a surprise. Lack of self-criticism is perhaps the party’s most distinct characteristic; hence resignations based on admission of failure or shortcomings are never seen among AKP ministers or senior bureaucrats. Everything negative is linked to “external” sources or described as an attack, and the AKP is only a victim.