In cyclical terms the level of economic activity remains unsatisfactory. According to the latest forecasts, the growth in GDP in 1997 will be just over 1 per cent. The trade surplus will remain large, as will the surplus on the current account of the balance of payments, thereby contributing to a further improvement in the country’s external position and providing support for the lira.
It will be necessary to modify the composition of public expenditure, by reducing that on current account, in order to release the resources needed to return public investment to a normal level. In the last few years this component has fallen by around one percentage point of GDP.