​All the president’s men?This is all?

TURKEY - In Brief 09 Jul 2018 by Atilla Yesilada

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President Erdogan’s first Cabinet decidedly underwhelmed expectations, as none of the star names from the private sector joined it, while last vestiges of conventional economic thought were purged. The appointment his son-in-law Mr. Berat Albayrak to the newly-formed powerful Ministry of Treasury and Finance is certain to aggravate concerns of nepotism. The Cabinet starts work at one of the most challenging times in recent history, with troubling relations with key Western allies, a war against terror which never seems to end and of course and economy that is widely off-balance. While I’m yet to study the resumes of all the Ministers, and the soon-to-be-announced staffs of new agencies may introduce some balance and experience to this team, it is overly optimistic to expect austerity, structural reform or in general much of a course change in policy at large. Let’s start with the Minster of Defense post which went to serving Chief of Staff Gen Hulusi Akar, the first ever military appointment to the job. Erdogan has thus signaled co-opting the powerful army, but Akar will do a good job transmitting the concerns of his former colleagues to the presidency. Thus, this is a good choice. Mr. Mevlut Cavusoglu retained the portfolio of Foreign Affairs, despite little demonstrable success in his past term. Under his management, Turkey’s relationship with the West deteriorated visibly. One may argue that he only follows orders, but one of the requisite qualities of a good Foreign Affairs Minister, that of advising the president on tricky matters, seems absent in Cavusoglu. Additionally, he is exceptionally rude and is known to misrepresent his counterparty’s viewpoint after meet...