Waiting for instructions

The signing of an agreement on the surrender of Armenia through the mediation of Russia and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region coincided with the resignation of the Minister of Treasury and Finance of Turkey, Berat Albayrak. The resignation or unquestioning removal of any minister after the transition of Turkey to the presidency is important news in Turkey.

The news of Berat Albayak's resignation was important in several ways.

Because: 1) Berat Albayrak is the son-in-law of the head of state, and although he has no political background, he was appointed Minister of Energy and Natural Resources as soon as he was elected to the parliament from Istanbul by being at the top of the AKP list in 2015, and his activities have always been in the spotlight of both the independent media and the public;

2) In June 24, 2018, elections, Berat Albayrak, who was appointed Minister of Finance and Treasury after the transition of Turkey to presidential rule, was more in the spotlight.

Because both the form of governance of the economy in the new system was of primary interest to everyone, and Albayrak had been brought to the post of vice-president of the Turkey Wealth Fund. In other words, Mr. Erdoğan managed the Wealth Fund, which he created for foreign loans and with high hopes, with his son-in-law, whom he trusted the most.

The people could not help wondering under what conditions Berat Albayrak could get a loan, how he could prevent the Turkish lira from depreciating, and what reforms he would carry out. Because the economic situation is deteriorating.

Just as the "reform packages" announced by Berat Albayrak during his 28-month tenure were not a cure for pain, the Minister of Finance and Treasury never "saw" the devaluation of the Turkish lira, taking it as a joke.

Leaving aside the law and tradition, the president of the Central Bank, who "did not lower interest rates", was dismissed, and his successor was dismissed within 15 months.

Just as the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves were completely depleted to prevent devaluation, it was not possible to find a way to do so by selling large amounts of gold to the treasury. However, Berat Albayrak's position was not shaken - the reason was clear.

His announcement of his resignation was abnormal in terms of Turkish political tradition as how his work was unusual during his 28-month tenure as the Minister of Finance and Treasury: Yes, the president's son-in-law announced his resignation on Instagram.

The strange thing did not end with the fact that the president's son-in-law (if another minister did the same, it would also be abnormal) did not submit his resignation with an application to the head of state but announced it on his Instagram account. Another abnormality was that the Turkish ruling media did not "see" the resignation for about 40 hours.

At present, there are 1,780 newspapers, magazines, TV channels, and radio stations in Turkey, of which only 5 were able to "see" the resignation of the Minister of Finance and Treasury, and 1,775 had to wait 40 hours to "see" this resignation. Because the media also needed to be instructed so that the resignation of the Minister of Treasury and Finance of the country (and before that the son-in-law of the President) "could be seen".

As soon as that instruction came, political, economic, and most importantly, "savvy" commentators handed TV screens, newspaper pages, and columns over to them without the mediation of Vladimir Putin. And, of course, by following the tradition of the USSR Politburo and putting the principle of "another nail in the coffin of the departer" into circulation at that moment, new recipes for "the rise of the economy" were invented and they talked, talked, talked in an unlimited way.

Of course, when 1,775 newspapers, magazines, TV channels, and radio stations indexed the resignation of Berat Albayrak, the agreement, which was signed through the mediation of Vladimir Putin, handed over Armenia, and sent peacekeeping troops to the region, has not yet found its rightful place on the agenda, with the exception of one channel funded by Azerbaijan. As those commenting on this issue speak of Azerbaijan's overwhelming victory, some reporters share the triumphant spirit of the streets of Baku with the Turkish public. It seems that it will take a few days for the total discussion of the agreement to begin.

We have to wait... For instructions...