Deputy PM Babacan praised for policies

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The Financial Times has praised Babacan for is economic policy stance. AA photo

The Financial Times, a leading business paper, praised the prudent economic policy stance of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, who heads the Economic Coordination Committee in the cabinet and is seen as a “reassurance” by many investors.

“Babacan’s presence is itself a reassurance, since he has been associated with Turkey’s successful management of the economy since the early days of the [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan government. But here too, politics intrudes,” said Daniel Dombey in his coverage on the government’s three-year medium term program.

“According to current party rules, Babacan would have to step down as a member of parliament at the end of the current parliamentary term and so leave the government. That outcome, if it came to pass, would be more important than any official medium term target – and its effect wouldn’t be too the good, in many investors’ eyes,” he said.

Separately, Babacan said yesterday in a speech at the Istanbul Forum, organized by Strategic Communication Center (STRATIM), that the government will maintain discipline in financial policy.
“One should make reforms when things go well. The effect of the measures will be limited when they taken are in hard times,” he said. The loan volume expanded by only 14 percent this year, he said.