BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA
AKSAM- When President Abdullah Gul was preparing for elected the president, we used to hear some people saying that when he's elected, he would share the government's burden in foreign policy, cooperate with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and thus follow an active foreign policy. Indeed, his performance has been extraordinary since the day he was elected. Gul who's currently in New York, US now paid his second visit to the US in the last 13 months. He's been working together with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and also following the Foreign Ministry step by step. The most influential initiative he's made at the Presidential Palace was in the area of diplomacy, that is, his visit to Yerevan, Armenia. Gul's efforts have reflected his aim of integration into the global system with links to politics and economy since the very beginning.
When I was trying to finish this article, I saw a program entitled 'A Lot of Money' on the television. This slogan is the best for this global age, because one can operate at the stock exchange and transfer money 24 hours a day thanks to the communication opportunities anywhere in the world. These days the world has been suffering the greatest economic crisis in its history, following the Depression of 1929. Now there are clouds of fear in Washington for which even a rescue package of $700 billion won't be enough. We're experiencing an era in which the rules of capitalism are almost rewritten. So what are we doing? Are we aware of the gravity of the issue? Are we taking necessary measures?
The press conference about the economy held by Erdogan was a late, but useful step. He also spoke mostly about the economy in Urfa the day before, which showed that he has developed awareness about the seriousness of the issue. These are good signs, because the economy shouldn't be neglected. I read on the Referans daily two days ago that there was the problem of coordination among economy ministers. I don't think that the situation is as serious as that much, but the initiative taken by Erdogan is vitally important, in terms of the structure of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
When the government developed close relations with neighboring countries in the area of foreign policies, this situation contributed to the economy greatly. That was the time when the AKP just came into power, Turkish economy's dimension of finance was in the foreground and the importance was being placed on macro economic balances. Our relations with our neighbors and Arab countries also helped us about the hot money flow that we needed. Unfortunately, the reflection of these flows in the real sector was insufficient. The global crisis is increasing in parallel to other crises in such areas of food and energy. So it's not likely that the current shrink will end soon.
The global economy is a reality which is different from the international economy as a whole. So I'm talking about the financial capital without a nationality and thus the effects of crises are felt in the entire world, because the money is virtual now and it tours around the world. We were an attractive country, as we provided the highest real interest rate. This situation also increases the risk factor and the bells of alarm are tolling for Turkey now.
No matter what, the politics also require economic power. The monetary power is both the owner and at least the partner of political power. The economy determines how the politics will be shaped. The upcoming elections in the US are a good example for this. From another point of view, the sunken banks are the financial companies which are symbols of the global economy. Now the state is intervening in markets. But the capitalism used to argue just the opposite. So what will be the result? How will the economies operate with the state's intervention? We know that liberal economies have a limit. That's exactly where we are. The change of paradigm on which Ankara has to work is obligatory here.