Veteran Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit was admitted to hospital today for the second time in a fortnight.
Doctors said Mr Ecevit, who holds together a frail three-party coalition, would remain in hospital for at least a week with a vascular condition in his left leg.
"My temporary illness is not a reason for damage to the future of our economy or our political situation," Mr Ecevit said in a written statement issued from his hospital in Ankara.
Financial markets are nervous about the prime minister's health because of fears a possible early election could upset a $16 billion IMF economic-recovery pact for Turkey, a NATO member and distant EU membership candidate.
Turkish shares slumped as much as six per cent and the lira fell against the dollar on the news. Bond yields, a measure of future risk, leapt around four percent to above 60 percent.