Turkey's power is 'litmus paper'


The bar of "sovereignty" that Turkey has raised in the field of politics, economy and security, its play-making power in Eurasia, advantage of demographic opportunity and its power of mobility has seriously disturbed some European countries. Turkey's economic and political power in its region coupled with select countries' fear of this power functions like a "litmus paper" revealing Europe's true colors as well as its fascist and intolerant attitudes. Europe is facing serious troubles today because of its aging population, its failure to embrace its small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), the inability to overcome intense unemployment and the challenges in global competition. As a result, it is in turmoil as Turkey continues to uninterruptedly take historic steps to break the 15-year siege that has been inflicted on it on a global scale as it is heading toward a historic referendum for the sake of "public tutelage" on April 16, and as it is becoming the "rising power" of Eurasia.The world will spend the next 10 years "designing the future" in terms of global economy and politics. In this regard, all international institutions advocating the concept of globalization, its significance and role in the world economy will undergo an important test. Either they will take new steps to affirm that the globalization process is essential for world economic politics, or we will go through a new period in which the phenomenon of globalization is completely abandoned. At this point, while the global system is on a quest for something new, let us not ignore Turkey for new partnerships. Despite being an important partner for the future of Europe, Turkey constantly deflects shallow and ugly attacks from its neighbor. As a result, it is considering intense cooperation with countries like Russia and China.Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying stated that Turkey, which is located in the heart of new emerging power centers, is an important country in Eurasia and that it will consider China's desire to jointly intensify cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. These remarks should be noted in the name of Eurasia's "inclusive" role and its play-making country, Turkey. Therefore, all countries wishing to intensify and improve their relations with Turkey within the next 50 years are looking forward to the results of the April 16 constitutional referendum. For the first time in its 200-year quest for a political administration model, Turkey has taken the opportunity to directly ask the public about the kind of an administration model they would prefer. With the constitutional amendment package and relevant adjustment laws, the Turkish public will pave the way for a historic change in mentality, new criteria in public administration and will create collective mind in the name of a "civil contract."Fed took the expected stepUp until last Wednesday, Global markets had been preoccupied with the U.S. Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decision over the past two weeks. The expectations for the Fed's interest rate increase was high and the main concern was how many times the Fed would raise interest rates in 2017. The expectations followed through with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) increasing monetary policy rates to 0.75 and 1.00. Moreover, global financial market professionals interpreted FOMC members' views and Fed Chair Janet Yellen's statement after the decision as the Fed might raise interest rates a maximum of two times by the end of 2017. As a result, the possibility of hiking interest rates at least four times this year seems to have disappeared for now. This development has led to a recovery in the euro and the currencies of developing and developed countries against the U.S. dollar. Also, it should be noted that Fed authorities are cautious because President Donald Trump's economic policies are not yet clear.Trump's political preferences and his possible move to boost infrastructure investments might increase the risk of inflation for the U.S. economy. Therefore, depending on the rising inflation risk, market professionals had expected the Fed to convey messages about at least four interest rate hikes in 2017. As the Fed's message pointed to three interest rate hikes in 2017, the dollar index dropped below 100.70 points from above 101.70 points. On the other hand, since the latest global financial crisis, the U.S. economy has significantly focused on exports for the first time in its economic history. So, it might be disturbed by a possible fall in its export performance because of the dollar which will be overvalued as a result of the Fed's rapid interest rate increases. Therefore, the Fed's rapid steps to raise interest rates, which will make the dollar overvalued, might fuel critical debates between the Trump administration and the Fed.