In this period, while we are confronting the coalition reality, there are many statements stating that coalition governments are not that bad. Of course, it's not a coincidence that the ones, who are making these statements, are %16 voting rates behind their closest competitor and have no chance to become the rulership alone.
Because the parties, which are stuck at the 20-25% levels, directed all their hopes on becoming the rulership to the coalition. This attitude is understandable. However, it's a known reality that the “coalitions" does not have a good history with Turkish politics and especially the Turkish economy.
COALITION PERIODS HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE CRISES YEARS
In order to find the report of the coalition periods, it will be sufficient to look back at Turkey's economic growth performance in those years. There are serious differences between the growth rate in single-party rulership years and in coalition years. For example, in the years with Menderes, between 1950 and 1960, the average economic growth rated was stated around 6.6%.
As for the 1983–1990 period, which is known as the Özal period, the economic growth rate is stated to be around 5.5%. Besides, this period represents the years where there were attempting to get rid of the political and economic guardianship. As it is today, in that period, certain segments objected to every economic breakthrough. Despite all that, a good economic growth rate had been achieved.
In the 1991 – 2001 period, which are the years when the coalition governments engraved their names as the failure in Turkish politics, the economic growth rate is 2.8%. Let's not forget about the cost embarked by the crises on the country.
As for the evaluation of the Turkish economy under the AK Party period; we need to divide the process into two, as before the global crisis and after the global crisis. Before the 2008 global crisis, in the 2002 – 2007 period, the economic growth rate has been 6.8%.
When we include the 2008 global crisis, which formed a great cost in the global economy and especially in European countries, in other words in the 2002 – 2014 years, Turkey's economic growth rate has been 4.8%. Despite the crisis, which ravaged the world and even brought some countries to the verge of bankruptcy, the Turkish economy had grown almost twice the record of the coalition periods.
Nowadays, coalition praising is being made, stating that the coalitions will not carry an uncertainty and will not be bad. Besides, while doing these, they are presenting the coalitions in rich countries as an example.
However, what's being forgotten is the fact that in countries like Turkey, who are developing, actualizing economic spurts with coalition governments and being able to make developmental moves is way harder compared to the single-party rulership. Because, including Turkey, in the countries who are developing, the political influence on the economy is higher.
THE SPURT IN ECONOMY HAPPENED UNDER SINGLE-PARTY PERIODS
In order to see the difference between the economic status under coalition and single-party periods, one can use many variables including the economic growth rates. The amount of foreign investments, inflation, budgetary deficit, investments and projects implemented are only a couple of the indicators I'm referring to.
During the 1950 – 1960 years, the feature of the country changed; in the period after 1983, the economy of the country integrated with the world economies in those times with Özal. These are the evidences that under single-party periods a radical transformation happened in the country. Even if it was late, after many infrastructure investments in every field, especially the communication field, a great transformation happened in the country.
On the other hand, the AK Party period was a period, where the political and economic guardianships were removed, the income per capita increased 3 times within 13 years, and the country's low income-group progressed to the mid income-group, that had been actualized, and the country advanced.
If we can remember, in the period between 1950 and 2002, the incoming foreign investment amount in Turkey was below 20 billion dollars, this number was above 20 billion dollars in 2006. In other words, the 52-year process is amounting to a one year process. This is what we are referring to by saying Turkey is losing time. If we are not where we should be economically today, then it's a loss of time.
While we already have many structural transformation programs that should be implemented and structural problems in the economy that we should discuss and find a solution to, we are increasing the time we lost with the political uncertainty. We need to mandatorily wait for the New Economy that advances rapidly.
