Pandemic Catches Turkish Government Low on Crisis Ammunition

"There are no serious articles in the economic package for workers and employers," said Enes Ozkan, an economist at Istanbul University.

The crisis, he said, would have "serious effects on the already-wounded Turkish economy."

"The government does not do anything for the sake and future of its people and the economy," he told BIRN. "Its main aim is to stay in power. The people's welfare and health are not priorities of the government."

Dire forecasts

A health worker wearing a protective suit leaves a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

The investment bank JP Morgan has warned of a 17-per cent contraction in the Turkish economy, while the main opposition Republican People's Party, CHP, says in a report that, in the most likely scenario, 2.7 million people will lose their jobs.

"Five million people are already not in their workplaces because of the government's shutdown of businesses to stop the spread of the virus," the CHP said in the April 5 report.

Turkey's economy is badly placed to cope with the effects of the pandemic after years of political crisis at home and abroad; the Lira has lost more than 130 per cent in value against the euro over the past four years, while the unemployment rate has soared to 13.4 per cent. The annual inflation rate is 15 per cent.

Independent experts say the real picture is likely worse.

"The Turkish government spent its resources in recent years amid the Lira crisis and other crises and the fiscal deficit is already very high," said Ozkan. "The public insurance fund, reserves of the Central Bank and the nation's reserve fund were used mostly to tackle the economic crisis before the pandemic started."

"The Turkish government...