When financial leaders converged on Istanbul for the October meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Turkey took pride in becoming the first country to host the gathering twice. An even greater source of pride was the fact that it had finally broken free from the IMF’s tutelage, after a half century as a serial recipient of funds and advice, lurching from one bail-out to the next.
While the global recession drove many countries into the IMF’s embrace, for Turkey it became a chance to assert new independence in economic management. Ankara might yet agree a new loan on its own terms but, as Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, put it, there was no need to lean on an IMF “walking stick”.
