Quo Vadis, Mehmet?

TURKEY - In Brief 27 Aug 2024 by Atilla Yesilada

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I was detoxing my brain from the filth of Turkish politics in the Aegean resort town Ayvalik, Balikesir, when rumors of Mehmet Simsek’s resignation hit the media, like a sucker punch to the jowl. It took me some time to get my bearings together and make sense of the whole mess, but no worries, Dear Reader, this is not a stale story. As of Monday, Simsek’s resignation remained the top story in Turkish media and shall remain so until the revised Medium Term Economic Program (MTEP) is unveiled next month. In this brief, I want to provide an explanation of what actually might have happened and what Simsek could do going forward, or President Erdogan might do to him. I found at least three credible sources who claim the resignation story was spun by Erdogan’s economic advisors. The best account of the details is from dissident journalist Ms. Nuray Babacan, who -- for reasons unclear to me -- has good scoops from AKP: “The fact that the economic conditions are not improving as desired and that the Treasury and Finance Minister, Mehmet Şimşek, cannot take the decisions he wants, frequently brings to the fore the claims that there is a “crisis in economic management”. While the Presidency denied the news that Şimşek was on the point of resigning throughout the day yesterday, claims were made that these allegations stemmed from a tense meeting held in the Palace. “It is stated that at the meeting concerning economic policy held at the Presidential Palace, the current situation was assessed; and the second economic measures package, which was scheduled to be presented to the Speaker after the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on October 1, discussed. “It was claimed...