Turkey continues to struggle with economic problems.
Inflation in the country continues, but President Erdogan does not seem to be able to help with his monetary policy.
Ankara - Recep Tayyip Erdogan's monetary policy is - in the truest sense of the word - expensive.
Because Turkey finds no rest.
High unemployment, the third corona wave and a currency that is still in a nosedive.
The Turkish lira is losing more and more of its value, the inflation rate in the country was 16.19 percent in March.
As a result, food is becoming more and more expensive in economically troubled Turkey.
Compared to the previous year, prices increased significantly by 17.44 percent.
And the president continues to take a rolling course.
It was only on March 20 that Erdogan dismissed central bank chief Naci Agbal.
The third such case since mid-2019.
Erdogan wants interest rates to remain low - Turkish lira continues to fall
Agbal had tried to get the country's inflation under control.
In addition, he increased the key interest rate surprisingly significantly by two percentage points to 19 percent.
The Turkish lira should be strengthened with higher interest rates, which should make imports cheaper and dampen inflation.
However, President Erdogan is once again pursuing a different monetary policy.
He is seen as an opponent of high interest rates and takes the unorthodox view that high interest rates drive up inflation and therefore wants to keep credit cheap.
For this reason, the 67-year-old pulled the emergency brake again and removed Agbal from his position.
He remains true to his credo: Erdogan still wants low interest rates and therefore describes the key interest rate as the “mother of all evil”.
Erdogan dismisses central bank chief again - successor has already been determined
His actions had immediate consequences for the national currency - it continued to crash.
The first central bank meeting is to take place next week under the new chairman Sahap Kavcioglu.
Kavcioglu is an ex-banker, an ex-member of the ruling party and an avowed opponent of tight monetary policy.
Ten days after Agbal was released, one of his deputy was released.
It is unclear why Vice Federal Reserve Chairman Murat Cetinkaya had to vacate his post.
However, his successor has already been determined.
It is the banker Mustafa Duman who is appointed as deputy of Kavcioglu.
Turkey: Erdogan receives EU leaders - sensitive issues on Tuesday
The lira crisis is by no means the only problem area for Erdogan.
During a visit by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel to Ankara on Tuesday, Erdogan's meeting with top EU representatives took place for the first time in a year.
According to the EU, a prerequisite for rapprochement is Turkey's willingness to cooperate in the conflict with EU members Greece and Cyprus over gas drilling in the eastern Mediterranean.
Despite concerns about the latest domestic political developments in Turkey, the heads of state and government of the EU had promised Erdogan increased economic cooperation and financial support at a summit in late March.
Von der Leyen and Michel last met Erdogan in March last year in Brussels.
(
cs with material from AFP
)
List of rubric lists: © Mustafa Kaya / XinHua / dpa / picture alliance