Atilla's Musings

Spotlight: Turkish ruling party’s rhetoric on democratic reforms not convincing

Source:XinhuaNet Date:25May2017

Erdogan’s road map offers little   hope for democratic reform:  Xinhua publishes this balanced article on the mostly hotly debated subject in Turkey:  What will Erdogan do with his executive

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Turkey’s Constitutional Referendum And Erdogan’s Diminished Power – Analysis

Source:Eurasia review Date:24May2017

I’ve been looking for an English language analysis of referendum results which reflect the tenuous support for AKP.  This article surveys exit polls, as well as outlining the challenges for

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Views from the capitals: What to do about Turkey?

Source:European Council on Foreign Relations Date:23May2017

This is a definitive survey of what EU capitols think about Erdogan and the future of Turkey-EU relationship. The good news is that unilateral suspension of accession is not in the cards. The bad

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A Frolic with Fethullah Gülen

Source:Ricochet Date:19May2017

This rejoinder to Fethullah Gulen’s pathetic attempt   at the decline of democracy  in Turkey is both funny and heart breakingly  sad. I added it to my musings being the Preacher is  still

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Turkey’s Erdogan Expected to Streamline Economic Team: Sources

Source:US News World Report Date:18May2017

Erdogan’s acceptance speech on Sunday to set course for Turkey:  Erdogan will certainly be crowned as AKP chief on Sunday, when he is expected to make a major policy speech. This article

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Foreign Investors Give Turkey Another Look Amid Private-Equity Rebound

Source:Bloomberg Date:17May2017

This article demonstrates how far Turkey has fallen from grace since Erdogan turned his face away from reforms and EU.  Private equity deals are expected to increase this year, headlines

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The United States and Turkey Are on a Collision Course in Syria

Source:Foreign Policy blog Date:14May2017

This article predicts a new low in Turko-American relations if the upcoming summit between Messrs Trump and Erdogan were to fail, and offers Trump policy suggestions to ease Erdogan’s concerns

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Turkey’s accelerated drift from Europe

Source:EU Observer Date:10May2017

The mutual scream fest between Turkey and EU has stopped. Bilateral visits are increasing, raising hopes of a normalization.  But, is normalization really possible? What does it actually mean in

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Worsening Budget Puts Turkey Treasury on Borrowing Spree: Charts

Source:Bloomberg Date:09May2017

I laugh when investment banking reports still claim that fiscal anchor is the pillar of Turkish stability.  It isn’t. The Ministry of Finance continues to spend even after the so-called

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Turkey plans to let banks securitise loans to spur growth

Source:Gulf News Date:08May2017

It is amazing how ill-informed financial media can be at times. This article heralds securitization of Turkish bank loans as a “new thing”, which has been going on for 10 years. Neither is it a

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