Economics
Erdogan Plans to Tighten His Grip on Turkey’s Economy
- ‘This may make some uncomfortable. But we have to do it.’
- Central bank can’t ‘set aside the signals from the president’
This article is for subscribers only.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he intends to tighten his grip on the economy and take more responsibility for monetary policy if he wins an election next month.
With the Turkish lira at a record low against the dollar and down this year against all 17 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, Erdogan told Bloomberg TV in London on Monday that after the vote transforms Turkey into a full presidential system, he expects the central bank will have to heed his calls for lower interest rates. The central bank’s key rate is now 13.5 percent, compared with 10.9 percent consumer-price inflation.