Turkish Central Bank’s duty ‘not to challenge politicians’

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Former Central Bank Governor Durmuş Yılmaz (L) handed over its duty to Erdem Başçı in 2011. Durmuş says the Bank shouldn’t challenge government. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

The duty of Central Bank executives is to convince the government instead of challenging it, according to Durmuş Yılmaz, ex-governor of the Central Bank and now chief economy advisor to President Abdullah Gül, stressing that the government should always have the final word.

“In the end, politicians rule. The politician is accountable to the citizen. He or she may continue or not continue to rule. Therefore, the politician should have the final word,” Yılmaz said.

He noted that many politicians generally developed short-term policies across the world and they strongly needed to garner public support, pushing politicians to issue money.

‘Politicians grant indepence’

“The principle behind the Central Bank’s independent status is based upon this fact. It didn’t gain independence by force, yet independence was granted to them by politicians. The duty of Central Bank executives, therefore, is to convince the government instead of challenging it. Parliament may take back independence just as it had granted it before,” he said.

The Central Bank needs to put forward its monetary policy plans to the government in a rational manner, thus gaining public support.

“In today’s world, there is no gold, silver, natural gas or oil that can substitute for money’s value, as the economy has become so marketable. As a citizen, you need to do nothing more but trust [Prime Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and [Turkish Central Bank Governor] Erdem Başçı to ensure the value of your money [remains stable],” he said.