José Ignacio Torreblanca on Turkey as the new role model

Turkey is modelling itself neither on its Western nor its Eastern neighbours but pursuing its own, apparently very successful politics, concludes political scientist José Ignacio Torreblanca in the left-liberal daily El País: "After years of discussing whether Turkey belonged to Europe or Asia, whether it was turning to the West or the East, we finally have the answer. The question was wrong. Turkey is not turning east or west: it's heading upwards. Within a decade the Turkish economy has quadrupled in size from 200 to 800 billion dollars (550 billion euros). The per capita income has tripled from 3,000 to 10,000 dollars; it has reduced its public debt from 75 percent to 40 percent of GDP and its risk markups are well below those of most southern European countries. Meanwhile the European Union is stagnating and many fear that living standards will go down in future and we will have to give up things we had taken for granted. ... In the streets of Rabat, Tunis and Cairo Europe is no longer the role model. It has been supplanted by Turkey."

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