Turmoil in Turkey
A deepening rift between the US and Turkey helped to push the Turkish currency to a record low last week, rattling investors and destabilising markets around the world ( see page 45). In the past week, the Turkish lira – already down more than a third in value against the dollar this year – fell by a further fifth. The decline was triggered in part by Washington’s decision to double US tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium imports, in protest at the continued detention of a US pastor accused of backing the failed coup against President Erdogan in 2016.
Rounding on the US, Erdogan claimed Turkey had been “stabbed in the back” by a Nato ally, and condemned President Trump for waging “economic war”. Unless the US “respected Turkish sovereignty”, he said, the country would find “new friends”. Erdogan urged Turks to support their country by selling any gold or hard currency to buy the lira.
What the editorials said
Erdogan’s attempts to shift blame onto the US are unjustified, said The Guardian. This is a crisis of his own making. In its “dash for growth”, his government has overborrowed hugely, racking up debts that must be repaid in dollars. What’s more, it failed to raise interest rates to cool an overheating economy. Result: “a chaotic rout” on the markets at the first sign of trouble. This is much more than a “run-of-the-mill diplomatic spat”, said The Daily Telegraph. Relations with Turkey have been cooling ever since Erdogan started awarding himself “untrammelled power” and pursuing a process of “Islamifcation”. But with his latest outburst, the “uncoupling of Turkey” from the West “is starting to look irreversible”.
If that’s the case, we have good reason to worry, said The Independent. As a longstanding member of Nato, Turkey has served as an “anchor” for US policy in the region. But already it’s looking for a closer relationship with Nato’s old rival, Russia. A final rupture with Washington would only hasten the courtship, with consequences that could be “grim indeed”.