Time magazine on Monday counted Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as among the top 10 global risks of the new year.
Erdoğan would drag Turkey’s economy and international standing to new lows in 2022, Time said, referring to the likelihood of the president trying to reverse his plunging poll numbers ahead of elections in 2023.
“Unemployment and inflation are high, and the lira is weaker and more volatile, but Erdogan has rejected orthodox economic management,” Time said and added that the Turkish president’s foreign policy would grow more combative in 2022 to distract voters from the economic crisis.
The magazine asserted that although early elections in 2022 are unlikely, in the event they are held, all the mentioned risks would be exacerbated.
Over the past several years, Turkey has been suffering from backsliding in its economy, with high inflation and unemployment as well as a poor human rights record.
Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in a country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.