NYT lauds Turkey's economic success, outdoing many EU members

The striking success of Turkey's economy was the subject of a story in yesterday's New York Times, declaring in its headline, "Turning East, Turkey Asserts Economic Power." Writing how, ironically, Turkey had been told for decades that its poor economy disqualified it for European Union membership, reporter Landon Thomas Jr. stressed Turkey's banner growth rate in the first quarter of this year, 11.7 percent, second only to China. Citing the "striking transformation" of the Turkish economy as the main driver behind Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity, the story said Turkey's remarkable economic performance in recent years also raised a question: Who needs the other more, Turkey or Europe? "So complete has this evolution been that Turkey is now closer to fulfilling the criteria for adopting the euro — if it ever does get into the European Union — than most of the troubled economies already in the euro zone," said the article. "It is well under the 60 percent ceiling on government debt (49 percent of GDP) and could well get its annual budget deficit below the 3 percent benchmark next year. That leaves the reduction of inflation, now running at 8 percent, as the only remaining major policy goal." The story also quoted a leading Turkish businessman calling Turkey's current situation a "dream world." He added, "If you had told me 10 years ago that Turkey’s financial risk would equal that of Italy I would have said you were crazy."