ANKARA: Turkey’s gloom isn’t all political. As Ataturk’s historic creation frays at the edges, Turkey’s economy is in a funk. It rebounded strongly from the global financial crisis — economic growth hit a China-beating 9 per cent in 2011 — but it is chugging along below 3 per cent now, less than half its pre-GFC norm. For such a youthful population — 40 per cent of its 78 million people are under 22 — that’s disappointing.
But the historic bridge between the Middle East and Europe can’t prosper when either side is mired in economic or political decay.
The global growth slowdown, concentrated in Turkey’s biggest export market — Europe — has sapped demand for its emerging car industry, which Turkey’s cheap, educated labour force and relative proximity to Europe had fuelled. Meanwhile, the economies of neighbouring Syria and Iraq, repositories of significant Turkish investments and trade, may as well have disappeared.
Those Turks fortunate enough to travel have observed the decline in their country’s economic fortunes. While Australia’s currency has dropped almost 10 per cent this year against the US dollar, Turkey’s has slumped 20 per cent — and it isn’t even a commodity exporter.
