Erdogan, after being sworn in as President of Türkiye: “The campaign is over. Now let us love and be loved” | International

Recep Tayyip Erdogan took office this Saturday as president of the Republic of Turkey, which he will occupy until 2028, after two decades in power. Rumors of who will be the members of his new government were planning on the ceremony, a list that was scheduled to be announced late on Saturday. The president made a brief intervention in the Assembly, where he was sworn in. While the deputies of his coalition have risen to applaud the oath, those of the opposition Republican People's Party CHP have remained seated. The deputies of the leftist and pro-Kurdish Yesil Sol Parti have not attended the ceremony.

“The electoral campaign ended on May 28. Now we say: 'Let us love and be loved.' We need 85 million people to stick together like bricks in a wall. We need a big hug," Erdogan said after the inauguration. “We have earned the honor of serving the Turkish nation for another five years. I embrace the 85 million, regardless of their political vision, origin, character or religion, ”he added from the Presidential Palace.

Beyond the investiture ceremony, the country lives pending the list of members of the next Government. All eyes are on the new head of the economy, a key position at a time when the Turkish lira is suffering a sharp devaluation and the country is experiencing 45% inflation, a percentage that some independent economists have raised to 100%. One of the names that sounds loudest is that of Mehmet Simsek, who would be in charge of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, although there has also been speculation about a vice presidency.

Erdogan knows that investors will not knock on the country's doors if they do not see a real change when it comes to applying economic policies. Analysts see Simsek's appointment as an advance to fix the situation. Unlike previous economic officials, Simsek upholds an orthodox policy and is respected among international investors. His appointment would hint at a certain retreat from Erdogan in his economic policy. It would not be the first time that Simsek has entered the Government: he was Finance Minister between 2009 and 2015. During those years he was well regarded among international investors.

Simsek left politics in 2018, when Erdogan's son-in-law Berat Albayrak held the economy portfolio and the lira began to plummet. If appointed, Simsek is expected to push for a return to traditional monetary policies, a reversal from the previous stage that saw the lira devalued and inflation rise.

Hakan Fidan, former head of the secret services, is emerging as the new foreign minister of Turkey, a NATO member country that has played a mediating role between Russia and Ukraine. If this appointment is confirmed, Mevlut Çavosuglu, until now a strong man of the Executive in charge of this portfolio since 2015, would lose his position.

The pools point out that Suleyman Soylu, until now Minister of the Interior, who has been criticized by human rights organizations for his repressive policies, would also leave the government. To replace him, Ali Yerlikaya sounds, with a less populist speech.

Representatives from 78 countries

This Saturday, the president went to the Anitkabir mausoleum, where the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, is buried, to pay him the traditional tribute. Finally, the investiture ceremony has moved to the Presidential Palace, where representatives of 78 countries awaited, including heads of state, prime ministers and ambassadors.

Other leaders who have come to Ankara include Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela, or neighbors Ilham Aliyev, from Azerbaijan, and Nikol Pashinian, from Armenia. Both countries, at odds, have been seeking an understanding through the mediation of Turkey, a country that in the last year has made notorious rapprochements with the Armenian neighbor. They have also turned to leaders such as the Pakistani prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, or the Libyan Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

Representatives of international organizations such as the Organization of Turkic States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation or the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, who also went to Ankara to iron out any differences regarding Sweden's entry into NATO, for the that the go-ahead from Turkey and Hungary is missing. In Ankara's eyes, Finland, the last member to join NATO, already did its homework to get the Eurasian country's nod in April. But Stockholm is still waiting with its sights set on the summit that the Atlantic Alliance will hold in July in Vilnius (Lithuania). Stoltenberg will try these days in Ankara to unravel the negotiation.

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