The new Turkish government took office in November 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the November elections and established a single-party government. Although it has Islamic roots, the party can be classified as a center-right party both politically and economically. The government's economic program is based upon the strategy and the targets of the existing stabilization program. However, it must be acknowledged that the performance of the AKP government up to now, has not been very successful with respect to the economy. Fiscal easing and delays in the implementation of structural measures made negotiations with the IMF difficult. There are two major issues that might dramatically affect the performance of the Turkish economy in 2003. The first one is success in implementing the existing economic program, and the second one is the conflict in Iraq. Please click here to read the text in full