Ahead of a critical election Turkey’s economy is running on borrowed time
With the lira down 80%, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s medicine isn’t working
VISITORS TO TURKEY are often surprised to discover that in a country supposedly consumed by economic malaise, the restaurants, at least in large cities, are bursting with customers. But appearances are deceptive. A big reason for the bustle is that middle-class Turks would rather spend their earnings today than watch inflation, officially measured at 55% year on year but widely believed to be much higher, burn through their savings tomorrow.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Election economics”
Europe April 1st 2023
- Ahead of a critical election Turkey’s economy is running on borrowed time
- Why Russian oil and gas is still flowing through Ukraine
- Belarus’s beleaguered opposition is flirting with violence
- What to do with Russia’s abandoned luxury yachts?
- More strikes and demonstrations against French pension reform
- A surge of migrants is reaching Italy
- Europe is unprepared for what might come next in America
More from Europe
Russian trainee pilots appear to be hunting Ukrainian civilians
Residents of Kherson are dodging murderous drones
Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?
Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat
Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage
Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply
A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched
The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command
A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy
With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever
France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left
François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy