BLADE RUNNER 2018: Is Erdogan’s Turkey on the edge of a crash? “The Turkish lira is falling, prices are rising. Experts warn that the Turkish economy is close to collapse, but President Erdogan wants growth at any price — and even more power.”

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The economic situation has not been this bad in years. Recently, the rating agency Fitch downgraded Turkey’s creditworthiness further into junk territory: the credit rating of the country is now BB with a negative outlook. This puts Turkey on par with countries like Guatemala or Costa Rica.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to worry little about rating agencies. And after his reelection in June, he is now more powerful than ever. Now he is head of state, head of his party and head of the government — all in one person.

He is promising his country a glorious future. “Our economy is on the right track and everyone can see how we invest,” the Hurriyet newspaper quoted him as saying recently. Turkey will soon become “one of the ten largest economic powers in the world,” Erdogan promised after his swearing-in for his current term.

Sure thing. But first his wider powers are going to need wider powers.