Erdoğan announces economic and judicial reforms
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday announced far-reaching economic and judicial reforms aimed at stabilising the legal situation and improving the investment climate. The Turkish economy has experienced a huge slump in 2020 and the lira has also plunged in value. Commentators discuss what reforms Erdoğan is referring to and which ones would really be attractive for the country.
Will he limit his own powers?
Karar doubts that the Turkish president will be consistent:
“Erdoğan says: 'Turkey is to become a low risk, high security and lucrative centre of attraction for national and international investors. That's all fine and good, but the only way to achieve this is to restore destroyed reforms. And it means that the government must not make changes to the constitution, laws and public institutions that enable it to exercise even more power, as it has done up to now, but must implement the limitation of its own powers with principles like checks and balances, free justice and the self-administration of institutions! Of course, the government sincerely wants to attract foreign investors, but does it want these things too?”
Carrot for capital, stick for the people
The Turkish president is not aiming for democratic but for purely capitalist reforms, Evrensel believes:
“When the president speaks of 'new legal provisions' and 'judicial reform', he is not talking about either independence for the judiciary or fair trials. He is talking about administrative measures that are aimed at providing security for capital. ... And what price will the people pay for the reforms promised by the one-man government? ... President Erdoğan also has an answer to that: 'The state and nation will act according to the spirit of these critical times and will not shy away from applying the right formula, even if it tastes bitter.' ... In the end, this means that Erdoğan will not only provide security for monopolistic capital, but will also vouch for even more profit and exploitation.”