Heads continue to fall at the top of the Turkish economic establishment overwhelmed by the umpteenth storm that has been hitting the Turkish for weeks. President Erdogan’s latest victim is Finance Minister Lufti Elvan, 59, who leaves office just one year after being appointed at his express request.
His “fault” is that he remained the last defender of orthodox economic and monetary policies based on the fight against inflation and on the defense of the lira. Quite the opposite of what Erdogan is asking, for years now engaged in a personal battle against the governors of the Central Bank who have raised interest rates to keep the cost of living at bay, a policy that, according to the president, slows economic growth and exports. .
The governor of the central bank currently in office has carried out the presidential diktats by lowering the cost of money several times by up to 15% – against inflation galloping around 20% – triggering massive sales on the Turkish lira, which has now depreciated by over 40% on the dollar and euro since the beginning of the year. In the last month alone, the lira has lost 27%.
Nureddin Nebati 57, former Deputy Minister of Finance, was appointed in place of Elvan, considered a very loyal one of his and very close to Erdogan’s son-in-law Bert Albayrak, who in turn had held the post before Elvan.
In the early stages after the announcement, the Turkish lira continued to depreciate, setting a new low against the euro. In the morning, the Turkish national currency broke through the threshold of 1 euro for 15 lire for the first time.