Word: reformer
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President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who cultivates the common touch, has his car stop at traffic lights. He still found himself involved in a devastating collision last week, a sudden political smash-up with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit-over corruption and banking reform-that has left the International Monetary Fund's inflation-cutting program for the country a twisted wreck, the lira in free fall and Turkey's 66 million people facing even more inflation. By week's end both officials, chastened, had left the crash scene to attend international gatherings...
...crisis-the result of the markets' perception that Turkey lacks the political will to reform its economy-undermines the country's credibility at a time when it is trying to join the European Union. And as the euro itself wobbled, the beads of sweat on the faces of bankers in Frankfurt and London as they watched the lira's plunge was proof positive that Turkey, whatever the pace of its integration into E.U. institutions, is already in Europe...
...Turkey-which had been getting on with an $11.4 billion IMF-backed program-economic reform means not just taking unpopular austerity measures but also transforming the entire state sector, removing it as a place of plunder and patronage by the political establishment. Turkey's state-owned banks serve the political machine, writing off debts as political favors. As a result, accumulated losses are staggering. For the two largest banks, the figure comes to $20 billion...
...While Turkey's breathtaking economic dive was not seen as particularly surprising in Brussels, the crisis highlights the importance of Europe's reform demands. Says Eberhard Rhein, senior adviser at the European Policy Centre in Brussels: "It clearly demonstrates that Turkey has to privatize the banks, urgently." Last week's events, he feels, amount to a "cleansing storm" on the political front that could have salutory economic effects...
...clear whether vouchers would actually be the kiss of death to any education reform package. Certainly at this point, says David Paris, professor of government at Hamilton College and an expert in education reform, the word "voucher" has taken on a political life of its own, and its introduction could wreak havoc on the education debate. "If the conversation turns to vouchers, the air will be poisoned," he says. Not surprisingly, perhaps, in this era of perfectly bisected public opinion, recent Zogby polls show Americans split on the issue of vouchers, with 45 percent opposed and 48 percent in favor...