Implementing a presidential system would help Turkey keep up with the world’s rapid pace of development, said Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Mehmet Simsek.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Simsek said: “Let’s talk about a presidential model, which would suit the country’s needs in order to not create an authoritarian system.”
Simsek said the country’s opposition parties are deliberately using the issue as political fodder rather than seriously sharing ideas with the public about a possible presidential model that would fit Turkey’s needs. If there is stability and the ability to enact predictable reforms, then the country will develop rapidly, he said.
There is a debate over changing Turkey’s existing parliamentarian system into a presidential one.
Simsek also said that in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, expectations of central banks have risen unrealistically.
“It was expected that central banks could be like a ‘superman’. There is no such thing,” he said. “There is no possibility that banks’ monetary policy could single-handedly lift up the global economy. These expectations are wrong. Central banks can’t solve all the problems alone. They can (only) temporarily provide some relief and ease”. Both globally and at the national level, monetary policies have failed to revive waning economies, he said.
“The world economy is currently consumed with its (battle against economic slowdown) in many areas and has failed to get the results it hoped for. There is a need for structural reforms to put the world economy on a permanent path to recovery,” he said.
Simsek said if there were a coalition government in power, Turkey’s economy would face much more difficult challenges amid global economic problems.
