Turkey, Sick Man of the World

Some leaders – including some of the world’s most experienced – still haven’t understood that political maneuvering and intimidation almost always degenerate into macroeconomic disasters. What was initially just meant to sideline a political opponent immediately turned into investor panic and a financial hemorrhage. A textbook case of how to methodically and deliberately destroy what little trust remained in a Turkey whose desert crossing now seems endless.

The masterstroke came with the arrest, on March 19th, of the Mayor of Istanbul – the frontrunner for the upcoming Turkish presidential elections – on a grave charge that would disqualify many of our own French political leaders. He was accused – without proof – of “irregularities” regarding his 1990 degree from the American University of Girne (Northern Cyprus). The University of Istanbul promptly responded by revoking the equivalency of his degree, which made him de facto ineligible for the presidency, as the Turkish Constitution requires presidential candidates to hold a university diploma. As of July 2025, an additional accusation alleges that Mr. İmamoğlu actually falsified his university degree, making him liable for prison time on charges of “forgery of official documents.”

That March 19th set off a historic chain reaction, triggered by irrational manipulations carried out by a ruling power that clearly values ego over the economic and financial stability of the nation. This was not about reforms – however controversial – but about a destruction of confidence that cost the Central Bank $90 billion. The bank has nearly depleted its reserves in an attempt to defend against the uncontrollable collapse of its currency, which that day alone plummeted by… 12%! In a global context where most central banks are cutting rates to stimulate their economies, Turkey once again stood out by being forced to raise its benchmark interest rate to… 46% in an effort to contain the tsunami unleashed on March 19th – the day a presidential candidate was disqualified over a diploma.

The situation would be laughable if it weren’t so serious for the people of a country rendered completely dysfunctional – next to which even Argentina looks sober. The leadership shows no concern for the flatline of foreign investment or for the economic bleeding, because staying in power is all that matters. Its survival comes before prosperity and before any bailout that might bring desperately needed liquidity to its people. The Turkish lira, which just 10 years ago was below 2 to the dollar, and below 5 seven years ago, has now plummeted to 40. The price of a liter of gasoline has risen from 1.48 lira in 2002 to 53 today. Inflation stands at 49%, likely underestimated since the government controls 85% of national media.

Was there a particular message the country’s leaders wanted to send to the markets through this arrest?

Absolutely: that stability is optional – authority is not.

Welcome to Turkish governance.

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Before leaving, leaf through chapter 49 (Jerusalem) of A Levantine Youth with me

The young soldier, who looked no different from the other customers and passersby, whom no one would have suspected was Jewish since he wasn’t wearing a kippa, launched into a full-blown tirade against this woman, who was clearly an Orthodox Jew. “I just came back from Beirut, where I was with our army, and I am ashamed of your contempt toward Muslims. You are completely ignorant, and you, like your kind, wallow in your disgrace. You derive immense satisfaction from your splendid isolation and your way of seeing the world. Are you even aware that just three days ago, thousands of defenseless Palestinian civilians were slaughtered—with the active complicity of our country’s army? I was there, yes, me, on the rooftops of the buildings surrounding those camps, and I can testify—looking you straight in the eye—about the screams of death we, the Jews of our proud Tsahal, heard for two days. Well, we’ll carry those screams with us to our graves! Our commanders called Ariel Sharon in the middle of the night to inform him of the ongoing massacre and ask for instructions. He simply thanked the caller, hung up, and went back to sleep, without lifting a finger, when a single call to the Mossad and the Christian leaders could have stopped that bloodbath! We have thousands of innocents on our conscience; their blood will fall back on our people. And during all this, you sit in your little bubble of comfort, with your pitiful certainties, daring to give us a history lesson about the Jews and claiming that Allah won’t listen to the prayers of His faithful?

We have lost all morality, we are a fragmented people, we no longer have that sense of individual responsibility that was once the touching beauty of the Jewish people. The absolute tragedy is that these sufferings, these traumas, have no impact, no translation into political thought. Public and political discourse remains impermeable to practical experience and cold in the face of these crimes. This compartmentalization, this dissociation, reflects a sick society. I fear that Israel, my country, is doomed to implode under the weight of cruelty and stupidity. I’m going to say a word you know. You’ll understand it immediately: Sinat Hinam. Yes, we have now reached that stage of baseless hatred that was the main reason for the destruction of the two Temples. It is our desire to harm, our wickedness, our mistrust that will destroy us—the very same things that led to the fall of our temples. Contrary to what you and your kind keep shouting, blaming ancient kings, the Romans, the Arabs, the Palestinians—every one of our tragedies has been our own doing, the result of this baseless hatred. This people, martyred for 2,000 years, has forgotten everything. Just a few weeks ago, as you well know, we had Tisha B’Av, when we were supposed to remember past catastrophes and reflect on their causes. This year, for me, within our occupying army, Tisha B’Av was especially sad, and that’s when I had this awakening—a mourning for Israel, threatened with dissolution because of us, the Jews, and our deep spiritual illness.”