2023-06-03 21:12:45
It attracts all eyes, but also all questions: Mehmet Simsek, appointed Minister of Finance, returns to government. From 2007 to 2018, as Minister of Finance (2009-2015) or Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy (until 2018), this banker with an international career led Turkish finances, reports our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer.
In a context of a falling pound, record inflation (up to 85% last fall) and a crisis of investor confidence, it is not surprising that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeals again to him.
Problem: Mehmet Simsek advocates monetary orthodoxy… However, the main reason for galloping inflation is the president’s insistence on lowering central bank rates, contrary to what economists recommend.
Will Mehmet Simsek be able to return to more orthodox methods in a system where the president is the sole decision maker? Will he be able to bring more rigor when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is already focused on elections of March 2024? Many doubt it.
But the arrival of this former economist from the American bank Merrill Lynch should reassure the financial markets.
► Also to listen to: Hyper-inflation in Türkiye: Erdogan’s flaw
« The Keeper of Secrets of Erdoğan at the head of diplomacy
Other names stand out in this new firm. Hakan Fidan, who for 13 years headed the Turkish intelligence services MIT, takes over as head of Foreign Affairs in place of Mevlut Cavusoglu. ” He’s the keeper of my secrets, the keeper of state secrets “, thus confided in 2012 the president, describing Mr. Fidan as a “ very well trained official ».
According to a Western diplomatic source, Hakan Fidan is ” her trusted man for years ” and also the one who leads the negotiations with the Arab world, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Libya and also Syria with which Mr. Erdoğan is trying to reconnect through Moscow.
Then, at the Interior Ministry, Ali Yerlikaya, up to now prefect of Istanbul, replaced Süleyman Soylu. The latter, like almost all the members of the previous cabinet, joined the benches of the Assembly.
Finally, at Defence, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Yasar Güler succeeds Hulusi Akar, himself a former Chief of Staff who held this position since July 2018. Hulusi Akar was considered the architect of the resistance to the failed putsch of July 2016.
>> To read also: Economic crisis in Turkey: in the face of record inflation, the Turks are stocking up
1685845854
#Erdogan #unveils #renovated #government #economist #reassure #markets