Gerald Celente, a well-known trend forecaster who is called by many a modern-day Nostradamus, has said he believes a bright future awaits Turkey thanks to the country’s proven ability to live through the worst of crises largely owing to the fact that it has learnt from past experiences.
While he predicted that world markets would likely suffer a giant collapse this year, Celente said countries such as Turkey, which has the ability to apply past experiences to the present, will manage to overcome difficulties relatively earlier.
Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman last week, he drew connections to Turkey’s ability to combine the opportunities of its past with the opportunities of the present day, indicating confidence that the country obviously has the potential to play a prominent role in the future of the world by relying on this capability.
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In regards to expectations for the global economy in 2010, Celente says he expects a big financial collapse this year. “For instance, when you look at the world’ largest economy, the budget deficit in the US has reached 10.6 percent of gross domestic product [GDP]. The measures that have been taken so far can only serve as a temporary cure for current problems. The real situation is far worse than the politicians’ expectations as regards the recovery of the financial markets.”
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When looking at Turkey’s position in this picture, Celente argues, Turkish society — as well as some others in Europe — is more experienced in surviving hard times due to past experiences. “But people in the US, for instance… Believe me, they have no idea what it takes for such endurance. Debt per capita is quite high in the US, and very few actually have the ability to repay their debts.”
Mentioning the recent emergence of financial problems in Greece, which triggered the resurrection of concerns about the global crisis at a time when many had started to believe it was on the wane, he said some EU countries may have to return to national currencies in the near future. “Some countries have already started discussing this option.” He recalled that since the switch to the euro, he had been suggesting that such a need would arise one day. Besides that, the integration of the euro is not the only problem that the union has to deal with, Celente said, pointing to the equally serious issue of growing migration. He said the most recent examples of such problems were experienced by Italy and that the EU governments would adopt more aggressive policies in a bid to combat illegal migration to their countries in the years to come.
Asked about Turkey’s chances of entering the EU, he said it is a disadvantage that such big countries like France are against it. “Turkey is a very important power in her region, and some countries that claim leadership in the EU are uneasy with this fact.”
Gerald Celente is founder and director of The Trends Research Institute, author of Trends 2000 and Trend Tracking (Warner Books), and publisher of The Trends Journal. He has been forecasting trends since 1980, and recently called “The Collapse of ’09.”
