Currency shocks, wild inflation mark Erdogan’s time as executive president
Turkey’s currency has lost 73% of its value against the dollar since Erdogan assumed sweeping executive powers in 2018 and remains prone to fresh shocks amid growing economic fragilities.
Economic advance was a major pledge that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made in promoting Turkey’s transition to a super-presidency system, but his record after four years as executive president leaves little to celebrate.
Erdogan was re-elected president on June 24, 2018 for a second term, armed with new, sweeping executive powers following a constitutional overhaul the previous year that weakened the parliament’s clout and concentrated power in the hands of the president. Four years on, his governance is widely criticized as a “one-man rule” that has eroded checks and balances, tightened control over the judiciary and imposed a firm grip on the Central Bank and other economic bodies.
