​Messrs. Lutfi Elvan and Naci Agbal: The art of the feasible

TURKEY - In Brief 11 Nov 2020 by Atilla Yesilada

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I’ve remained silent after the appointment of Mr. Naci Agbal to CBRT and the replacement of Berat Albayrak with Mr. Lutfi Elvan, because I waited for the second shoe to drop. My job is politics, which remains pregnant with the aftershocks of these two events. Politics is the art of feasible, and in this sense Agbal and Elvan are arguably the best names to fill their positions, given the constraint of Erdogan’s needs. In this market brief, I want to focus on the political repercussions of Albayrak’s resignation and what Elvan and Agbal can do. Regarding the first topic, I want to register my deep unease about covering unsubstantiated rumors, but this is how Turkish media has become. Investigative reporting, impartiality and fact checking have long left the profession. Anyhow, it is certain that AKP MPs and the rank and file have sighed a deep breath of relief with Albayrak’s departure. In addition to being extremely bad at his job he was also imperial and condescending. His endless tirades about how the economy is improving by the day has done incredible damage to AKP’s standing with voters who clearly experience the exact opposite. Nevertheless, the turmoil in AKP is a durable reality and it won’t go away until Erdogan manages to turn the economy around AND stumps out Covid-19 outbreak. I can’t confirm that dozens of deputies are ready to bail towards DEVA and Gelecek (Future Parties), but this remains a strong possibility in winter months. I don’t expect a large Cabinet reshuffle, but since Lutfi Elvan will not fill Albayrak’s shoes as the Grand Vizier, or a quasi-PM, Erdogan needs to recruit a respectable name as VP to keep the whip on the backs of the party function...