{"id":110288,"date":"2021-03-23T11:54:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T11:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=110288"},"modified":"2021-03-23T11:54:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T11:54:43","slug":"turkish-opposition-slams-erdogan-after-cenbank-governor-ousted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/turkish-opposition-slams-erdogan-after-cenbank-governor-ousted\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish opposition slams Erdogan after cenbank governor ousted"},"content":{"rendered":"
ANKARA (Reuters) – Opposition parties say Turkey is paying a steep price for President Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s wayward economic policies after his shock firing of the central bank governor sent Turkish financial markets reeling.<\/p> Erdogan dismissed Naci Agbal on Saturday, two days after the governor raised rates to curb inflation. Erdogan then appointed a critic of tight policy who is expected to reverse recent rate hikes, fuelling fears of political meddling in monetary policy.<\/p>\n The lira slumped as much as 15% after the move, stocks dived and government yields jumped, piling pressure on the credit-fuelled emerging economy, which has been prone to booms and busts during Erdogan\u2019s 18 years in power.<\/p>\n Sahap Kavcioglu, a former lawmaker from Erdogan\u2019s ruling AK Party (AKP) who shares the president\u2019s unorthodox view that high interest rates cause inflation, is Turkey\u2019s third central bank chief since mid-2019.<\/p>\n \u201cTurkey is paying the price for Mr Erdogan\u2019s thoughtless and reckless decisions with high interest rates, unemployment and high inflation,\u201d Iyi Party chairwoman Meral Aksener told her party\u2019s lawmakers in a speech in parliament.<\/p>\n Erdogan recently announced an economic reform package but Aksener said it lacked credibility. She said Turkey\u2019s economic woes – with inflation above 15%, high unemployment and a gaping current account deficit – left no alternative to high rates.<\/p>\n \u201cHigh interest rates have become necessary. High interest rates are a fever medicine, not a permanent cure. As the treatment is delayed, it is inevitable for the patient to die,\u201d said Aksener, head of the fifth largest party in parliament.<\/p>\n Related Coverage<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u2018UNPRECEDENTED INCOMPETENCE\u2019<\/p>\n Faik Oztrak, deputy head of the main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP), slammed what he called the AKP\u2019s \u201cideological blindness\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is truly unprecedented incompetence to cause the Turkish lira to lose more than 10% in a single day two days after interest rates were raised,\u201d he told a Monday news conference.<\/p>\n Erdogan has not commented on the move but a deputy head of the AKP, Nurettin Canikli, said Agbal had been dismissed because he did not use monetary policy instruments rationally.<\/p>\n Aksener said her party supported Agbal prioritising price stability and faulted Erdogan\u2019s economic management, under a presidential system which came into force after a 2018 election.<\/p>\n \u201cTurkey has no macroeconomic problems. Turkey has macro-Erdoganic problems… What is the solution? To immediately get rid of this failed system and return to a parliamentary democracy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n