The summer of 2008, most likely, will not  be remembered by its high running temperatures but will be remembered with two major lawsuits deeply dividing the Turks. In one lawsuit the prosecutors argue that the ruling party (AKP) has to be closed based on its non-secular policies&activities. In another lawsuit, the prosecutors are pressing charges against more than 100 citizens including two retired generals, several other retired military officials and many well known public figures for being a member of an organization called Ergenekon which is claimed to be planning a coup to dethrone AKP.

Thanks to all the dust raised by these lawsuits the public seems to be completely blind to how the economy is performing. The figure below, recently published by Ari Movement shows the increasing export and import numbers in billion dollars. It is clear how the gap between these two has been increasing since AKP won a major victory in the 2002 elections. Even though major economic parameters are not bright, the public seems to disregard these and still support AKP as they won the 2007 election by a landslide.

(*:2008 numbers are projected using the 1st quarter’s numbers. Except the 2008 projection, all the numbers are taken from Turkish Statistical Institute)

It would be unfair to say the increase in trade-deficit was a direct cause of AKP’s policies. The next figure (also published by Ari Movement) shows the increase in trade deficit and mineral fuel and oil import numbers.

(*:2008 numbers are projected using the 1st quarter’s numbers. Except the 2008 projection, all the numbers are taken from Turkish Statistical Institute)

The oil and natural gas imports make up most of the mineral fuel and oil imports. The figure shows us how the increasing crude oil prices had a high toll on growing Turkish economy. Unfortunately for Turkey, as the economy grows the need for energy grows and this directly fuels the deficit.

Even though we said AKP did not create this problem, it would be fair to say they have done almost nothing to solve the problem. For instance, today, over 14% of Germany’s electricity power comes from renewable energy. This number is less than 1% for Turkey.

AKP government has very recently passed several legislatures which aims to boost the transition to renewable energy. Turkish Embassy has a PDF document outlining Turkey’s new energy policies. It is to be seen if these policies are enough and if they will have their effects before it is too late.