Mediaboss Marketing

ANKARA, Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in on Monday for a five-year term under a new Constitution that gives Turkeys president sweeping executive powers. He promptly named his son-in-law finance minister, an appointment that unsettled financial markets and raised new concerns about the concentration of so much power in one politician.

We as Turkey, and the Turkish nation, are making a new start here in your presence, Mr. Erdogan told hundreds of foreign leaders, dignitaries and party members gathered in the gardens of the presidential palace in Ankara, the capital. We will make major moves in every area from macroeconomic balances to investments to make Turkey one of the 10 biggest economies of the world.

Mr. Erdogan, who has been at the helm of Turkish politics since 2003, received a fresh mandate from voters last month on promises to make Turkey more efficient, and a great and strong state. As a result of a referendum he championed last year, the once-ceremonial presidency has vastly expanded powers.

Whether Mr. Erdogan can get a grip on the shaky Turkish economy is another matter. Government debt has exploded, fueled by borrowing for vast infrastructure projects, many of them built by contractors with ties to Mr. Erdogan and his allies. Turkeys economy is still one of the worlds fastest growing, expanding at a rate of 7.4 percent last year, but the lira has fallen recently, a reflection of creditors and investors anxieties.

The currency fell further on Monday after Mr. Erdogan named his son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, a former energy minister, as treasury and finance minister. The new cabinet, announced late in the evening, was keenly awaited for an indication of what Mr. Erdogan plans with his newfound powers.

Many of the appointments were of bureaucrats; only four were of elected politicians. The foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, kept his position; the former army chief of staff, Hulusi Akar, was named defense minister; and an American-trained bureaucrat, Fuat Oktay, was named vice president.

Mr. Oktay had served as under secretary in the prime ministers office, which was abolished with the transition to a presidential system.

This means there will be more continuity than change, Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the director in Ankara of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said before the announcement. They will be implementers, he added, so he is taking things into his own hands.

Mr. Erdogan has defended his constitutional change to introduce a strong presidential system passed by referendum last year as necessary for greater efficiency and a responsive government.

The presidential government system is not coercive but a specific choice that the history directed us to, he told his guests. For the first time in history since Ottoman times, Turkey made its choice at a critical crossroads not by force of a military coup, he said, but with the free will of our nation.

Critics warn the new presidential system will not solve Turkeys problems, from growing economic strains to its bitterly divided politics.

It is completely false that if we change the system problems will be solved, said Murat Sevinc, a professor of constitutional law who writes a column for the newspaper Duvar. They have built a system that is nongovernable, nonmanageable, whoever is elected.

Few Western leaders were present the only leader from the European Union was the president of Bulgaria although a former chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schrder, who has maintained close relations with Mr. Erdogan since his time in office, was present.

Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia sat in the front row, alongside the presidents of Somalia, Sudan, Chad and Pakistan. The emir of Qatar was the only Arab leader present, and President Nicols Maduro of Venezuela was the lone leader from the Americas. The United States was represented by Philip S. Kosnett, the charg daffaires at its embassy in Ankara.

The United States and European nations have criticized Mr. Erdogans growing authoritarianism in recent years, and in particular his harsh crackdown against political opponents since a failed coup in July 2016. Over 100,000 people have been arrested under a state of emergency since the coup, and 150,000 purged from their jobs.

Hours before his inauguration, Mr. Erdogan dashed off a decree ordering the firing of another 18,000 state employees, most of them members of the police and army, but also teachers and academicians.

The symbols of the days events were scrutinized for how they reflected on what is to come. Some of the celebrations were canceled out of respect for the 24 people killed when a train derailed in northwestern Turkey on Sunday evening.

Legislators from the main opposition parties the Republican Peoples Party and the Good Party, and the pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples Party refused to stand as Mr. Erdogan took his oath before the newly elected Parliament. Mr. Erdogan entered the chamber to applause, but some boos rang out in the chamber as well.

The president remained stern faced throughout, even when waving to clapping supporters.

Mr. Erdogan won the presidential race with 52 percent of the vote, but his party failed to win a majority in Parliament and will work in alliance with the Nationalist Movement Party. Nearly half the Parliament representing a population the size of Spains remains opposed to Mr. Erdogan, said Soner Cagaptay, author of a book on Mr. Erdogan, The New Sultan.

A clap of thunder sounded the moment after Mr. Erdogan took his oath, and rain descended upon the crowd gathering to celebrate the inauguration across town in the gardens of the presidential palace.

First, Mr. Erdogan paid his respects at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic.

Esteemed Ataturk, he wrote in a visitors book. I promise to go on strengthening the unity and fraternity of our nation, aggrandize our country, glorify our state.

The gesture seemed intended to mollify opponents who have accused Mr. Erdogan of seeking to unravel the secular parliamentary republic that was Mr. Ataturks legacy.

Mr. Erdogan rode in a black car carpeted in red carnations, flanked by a mounted police escort to the presidential palace, arriving as Turkish artillery sounded a 21-gun salute.

On land that Mr. Ataturk had set aside for an experimental farm, Mr. Erdogan built a monumental palace four times the size of Versailles.

In regal procession, he walked the length of the palace gardens, with his wife, Emine, by his side, past a colorful honorary guard in medieval costumes. He greeted guests and supporters, and allowed himself a smile.

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to a book on Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by Soner Cagaptay. It is The New Sultan, not The Last Sultan.

More here:
Erdogan Begins New Term and Names His Son-in-Law Finance ...

After the first cabinet meeting under Turkey's new presidential system, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesmanIbrahim Kalin said Turkish authorities were considering lifting the state of emergency, which was imposed following a failed coup in July 2016.

"As of now, it is foreseen that the emergency rule be brought to an end on the 18th [of July] and the fight against terrorism will continue with current laws in place," Kalin said, although he added that in the event of an extraordinary threat, the state of emergency could be revived.

Read more: Opinion: A dark time for democracy in Turkey

After years of free market reforms, Turkey's transition slowly begins to reverse. Islamist Abdullah Gul's candidacy as president in 2007 marks a clear shift away from secularist policies, and strains relations between the ruling AKP and the military. However, with broad support from both conservative Muslims and liberals, the AKP wins the parliamentary elections and Gul is elected president.

Then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tables a constitutional reform increasing parliamentary control of the judiciary and army, effectively allowing the government to pick judges and senior military officials. The amendment, which is combined with measures also aimed at protecting child rights and the strengthening the right to appeal, passed by a wide margin in a public referendum.

Pent-up anger directed by young people at Erdogan, Gul and the Islamist-rooted AKP hits a boiling point in May 2013. The violent police breakup of a small sit-in aimed at protecting Istanbul's Gezi Park spurs one of the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Eleven people are killed and more than 8,000 injured, before the demonstrations eventually peter out a month later.

A fragile ceasefire deal between the Turkish government and the Kurdish rebel PKK group breaks under the weight of tensions aggravated by the war in Syria. Military forces resume operations in the mostly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. In early 2016, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) a breakaway PKK faction claim responsibility for two bombings in Ankara, each killing 38 people.

A military coup attempt against the government shakes Turkey to its core and briefly turns the country into a war zone. Some 260 civilians die in overnight clashes with the army across five major cities. Erdogan, however, rallies supporters and the following morning rebel soldiers are ambushed by thousands of civilians on the Bosporus Bridge. The troops eventually drop their guns and surrender.

In the aftermath of the failed coup, Erdogan announces a state of emergency, leading to arrests of tens of thousands of suspected coup sympathizers and political opponents. Among those detained are military and judiciary officials and elected representatives from the pro-Kurdish HDP party. The purge is later expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers.

As part of Erdogan's crackdown against supposed "terrorist sympathizers," Turkey becomes one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. The government shuts down around 110 media outlets in the year following the coup and imprisons more than 100 journalists, including German-Turkish correspondent Deniz Ycel.

With a referendum on expanding Erdogan's presidential powers set for April 2016, AKP officials look to galvanize support among Turks living in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands forbids Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from landing in the country, while Germany opts to cancel two rallies. Erdogan accuses both countries of Nazi-style repression.

Erdogan narrowly wins the referendum vote expanding his power. As a result, Turkey's parliamentary system is abolished in favor of a strong executive presidency. Erdogan is also allowed to remain in power potentially until 2029. However, international election monitors claim that opposition voices were muzzled and that media coverage was dominated by figures from the "yes" campaign.

Erdogan secures a new five-year term and sweeping new executive powers after winning landmark elections on June 24. His AKP and their nationalist allies also win a majority in parliament. International observers criticize the vote, saying media coverage and emergency measures gave Erdogan and the AKP an "undue advantage" in the vote.

Author: David Martin

Gulen still blamed

Ankara blamesUS-based Islamic cleric and erstwhile Erdogan allyFethullah Gulenfor orchestrating the coup attempt. The state of emergencyhas been extendedseven times since coming into effect in 2016.

Over 70,000 people have been arrested in connection with the coup attempt and more than 110,000 people have been purged from the civil service and military. About 1,300 associations and foundations have been shut down under the measures.

Erdogan said earlier on Friday that there would be commemoration ceremonies in 81 provinces on Sunday to make the second anniversary of the coup attempt "unforgettable."

Erdogan,who is now both the head of state and government after the move to an executive presidency,promised if re-elected in the June 24 presidential elections that he would lift emergency rule.

jbh/sms (dpa, AFP)

View post:
Erdogan mulls lifting Turkey's state of emergency | DW | 13 ...

Turkeys lira fluctuated between gains and losses as Recep Tayyip Erdogan took his oath as an executive president with vastly expanded powers and before he announces his cabinet.

The currency reversed earlier gains of as much as 1.3 percent against the dollar to drop 0.9 percent after Turkey announced changes in central bank law. An official decree removed Article 25 of the nations central bank law that says governors are appointed for a five-year term with a cabinet decision and may be reappointed after their term expires. It didnt set an alternative term.

President Erdogan was sworn in Monday afternoon and will unveil his cabinet around 9:30 p.m. in Istanbul. He will appoint members of his cabinet, which is expected be reduced to about 16 in strength from the current 27, and also has the power to appoint other high-level officials.

While the new system boosts the presidents powers and cuts those of the parliament, investors are on the lookout for cabinet members names that may provide clues on any future policy bias. They are waiting to see whether those with a pro-market image such as Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek and Finance Minister Naci Agbal made the cut, or if theyll be replaced by people from Erdogans inner circle who prize growth over fiscal and monetary discipline.

With above 15 percent annual inflation and $230 billion-plus external financing needs versus $26 billion net foreign-currency reserves, the economy should need urgent measures to cope with the macro imbalances, Global Securities analysts including Sertan Kargin wrote in a note on Monday. Turkeys case is no longer really about who will be in the driving seat of the economy, but whether or not challenging macro measures will be taken.

Erdogan had said he intended to take more control of monetary policy once elected as an executive president. He has also pledged to lower interest rates, putting pressure on the countrys markets ahead of the June 24 vote. His senior advisor Cemil Ertem said in late June that the names of policy makers or cabinet ministers are meaningless under the new system.

For as bad as it sounds, I must agree with Ertem, said Cristian Maggio, head of emerging market strategy at TD Securities in London. I think its all about whats in Erdogans mind. That said, the usual names that are market-friendly would make the cabinet more palatable.

The lira was 0.2 percent weaker at 4.5822 per dollar as of 5:33 p.m. in Istanbul as the changes in central bank law spooked investors ahead of the cabinet announcement. The decree also removed a clause that said central bank deputy governors are appointed for a five-year period through joint decision and with recommendation of the governor.

The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index, benchmark gauge of Turkish equities, was 0.4 percent higher, after paring earlier gains of as much as 2.1 percent. The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped 36 basis points to 17.07 percent.

With assistance by Selcan Hacaoglu

Read this article:
Turkish Assets Fluctuate Ahead of Erdogan's Cabinet ...

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkeys Tayyip Erdogan ushered in the new, executive presidential system he had long campaigned for by putting his son-in-law in charge of the economy and promising a greater overhaul of a country he has dominated for 15 years.

Hours after he was sworn in with sweeping new powers at a ceremony in the capital of Ankara late on Monday, Erdogan named Berat Albayrak as treasury and finance minister. Albayrak, 40, previously served as energy minister and, before that, led a company seen as close to the government.

His appointment - and the absence of familiar, market-friendly ministers from the cabinet - has helped send the lira sharply lower. Erdogan has said the powerful executive presidency is vital to drive economic growth and to ensure security after a failed 2016 military coup.

Western allies and rights group decry what they say is increasing authoritarianism and a push toward one-man rule. Investors have been worried by what they fear is Erdogans tightening grip on monetary policy.

Albayrak becoming the finance minister is not a good sign especially because of his close relationship with President Erdogan. It is a sign that Erdogan will control economic policy even more, said Guillaume Tresca, a senior emerging markets strategist at Credit Agricole.

The independence of the central bank could be undermined.

A self-described enemy of interest rates, Erdogan wants to see lower borrowing costs to spur growth. Investors, who have warned that the credit-fueled economy is overheating, want to see decisive interest rate increases to tame double-digit inflation.

Speaking during a handover ceremony in Ankara, Albayrak pledged to work hard to bring inflation down to single digits and also to ensure a sustainable and healthy growth.

We are facing a period where we have to work hard to bring inflation down to single digits again, Albayrak said adding that Turkey will have a stronger monetary policy in the upcoming period.

Under the new system, the post of prime minister has been scrapped and the president selects his own cabinet, regulates ministries and can remove civil servants - all without parliamentary approval.

Likewise, the departure of market-friendly ministers such as Mehmet Simsek, the well regarded former deputy prime minister, and Naci Agbal, previously the finance minister, has also undermined confidence.

Nothing can be regarded as positive on this one, said Edwin Gutierrez, the head of emerging markets sovereign debt at Aberdeen Standard Investments. Obviously it is going to be a step down in capacity compared to Simsek.

Erdogan, the most popular and divisive leader in recent Turkish history, has now formally become the most powerful leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the republic from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.

Just as Ataturk transformed an impoverished nation at the eastern edge of Europe into a secular, Western-facing republic, Erdogan has fought to bring Islamic values back into public life and lift millions of pious Turks - long ostracized by the secular elite - out of poverty.

We are leaving behind the system that has in the past cost our country a heavy price in political and economic chaos, Erdogan said in an address late on Monday.

In the aftermath of the 2016 coup, Turkey, a member of the NATO military alliance and still nominally a candidate to join the European Union, has detained some 160,000 people, jailed journalists and shut down dozens of media outlets.

The government says its measures are necessary given the security situation.

In one of three presidential decrees issued in the governments Official Gazette on Tuesday, it was announced that the president would appoint the central bank governor, deputies and monetary policy committee members for a 4-year period.

It was also announced in the Official Gazette that Erdogan had appointed ground forces commander General Yasar Guler as the new chief of the general staff, replacing General Hulusi Akar, who was appointed defense minister in the new government.

Additional reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul and Marc Jones in London, Editing by Darren Schuettler, William Maclean

More here:
Erdogan starts presidential rule, names son-in-law Turkish ...

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved to cement his control over the economy, claiming the exclusive power to appoint central bank rate-setters a day after naming his son-in-law to oversee economic policy.

The moves complete a years-long process that saw members of his investor-friendly A-team removed from the government one-by-one, increasingly rattling markets. The lira plunged on Monday by the most since a failed coup attempt two years ago and is down by 19 percent against the dollar so far this year.

Id have expected Erdogan to have learned the bitter cost of messing with markets, Atilla Yesilada, economist at GlobalSource Partners in Istanbul, said in an emailed report. Apparently, he does think that with his new powers he can best the markets.

Erdogan was sworn in Monday for a five-year term as president with enhanced powers after winning re-election under an amended constitution, setting the stage for him to follow through on a pre-vote promise to take more direct control over monetary policy. The 64-year-old leader has repeatedly clashed with the central bank over borrowing costs that he is determined to keep low under almost all circumstances.

He formalized his increased powers over top appointments at the bank with a decree on Tuesday. Turkeys largest business association, Tusiad, which has been urging the government to respect the rule of law and independence of institutions, cautioned that central bank autonomy is very important for a strong Turkish economy.

It isnt clear how the central bank will respond to price gains running more than triple the official target at its next monetary policy meeting on July 24.

Key is independence from influence and ability to do what is needed. Given the tough decisions needed to be taken, with the new cabinet and changes with decrees, that ability may have been impaired, especially on increasing interest rates to control inflation, according to Michel Danechi, a portfolio manager at Vedra Partners Limited in London.

The decree, one of the first three after Turkey officially shifted its governance system to an executive presidency, was published in the Official Gazette. It didnt include any reference to other members of the cabinet in appointing the central bank chief, who used to be named jointly by the president, prime minister and a deputy prime minister in a decree signed off by the entire cabinet.

The order followed his appointment of Berat Albayrak, a son-in-law and former energy minister who entered parliament for the first time in 2015, to run a new ministry of treasury and finance, combining what used to be the two most powerful economic jobs. Hell replace Mehmet Simsek, a former Merrill Lynch executive and the last man standing from a group of politicians whove been trusted by investors over the years to rein in the presidents go-for-growth instincts and keep Turkeys $880 billion economy on a sustainable path.

There was no job for Simsek in the downsized cabinet of 16 ministries.

From now on, budget and fiscal discipline will be maintained in a better way, Albayrak said as he took office on Tuesday.

Read: Turkey Strips Government of Role in Naming Central Bank Chief

The lira erased its earlier gains after the report and was trading 0.9 percent higher at 4.6910 per dollar at 4:33 p.m. in Istanbul. The currency depreciated more than 3 percent after Albayraks appointment on Monday.

The currencys slide is not good news for Turkeys indebted corporations, which have borrowed heavily in hard currency and now face ballooning foreign-exchange liabilities. The difference between the corporate sectors foreign liabilities and assets is at near record $221 billion as of end April.

For more on the cabinet, read: Erdogan Stokes Investor Unease With Son-in-Law as Economy Czar

Erdogan named Fuat Oktay, formerly a senior official at the prime ministers office, as his vice president and kept Mevlut Cavusoglu in place as foreign minister. Hulusi Akar, the chief of staff who was held hostage during the night of the coup attempt against Erdogan, was named as defense minister. Mustafa Varank, an Erdogan aide, will be in charge of industry and technology.

During the snap election campaign, Erdogan told Turks that the new presidential system would ensure stability in turbulent times at home and abroad.

After the unsuccessful putsch, authorities began a sweeping purge of the civil service, judiciary, security forces and education system, arguing that supporters of the coup attempt were being rooted out. Thousands more officials were fired from government jobs on Sunday, bringing the total to about 130,000. Turkey has also become more deeply embroiled in the civil war in neighboring Syria, as Erdogan sent his army into the countrys northwest to fight Kurdish militants.

With assistance by Constantine Courcoulas, Tugce Ozsoy, and Asli Kandemir

(Updates with remarks from finance and treasury minister in 11th paragraph.)

More here:
Erdogan Expands Clout Over Central Bank, as He Promised