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There's no escaping Turkey's economic nightmare, even in well-off districts of Istanbul such as Sisli. Photo: Valeriy Ded
The president has famously rejected conventional economic thought, and, as a staunch opponent of high-interest rates, has continually pressured the country’s nominally independent central bank to keep borrowing costs low. His administration claims that slashing costs will stimulate the economy, increase productivity and reduce consumer prices, against the advice of most experts. Conventional wisdom suggests that low-interest rates cause inflation.
The blame game comes ahead of
the parliamentary and presidential elections, due to take place by June 2023. The opposition parties have put together an unprecedented (for Turkey) alliance. Their job is to capitalise on
the cost of living crisis to dislodge Erdogan. But where the wily president is concerned, things in Turkey are never straightforward.
While the ruling AKP party would like to solely blame current external events for the inflation crisis – including enduring supply chain and other impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and
economic consequences of the war in Ukraine – many continue to point the finger at the country’s leader of nearly two decades, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Former Bulgarian PM launches new party to woo pro-Russian voters
Arshaluis Mgdesyan for Eurasianet
Former caretaker prime minister Stefan Yanev and members of his cabinets have initiated a new conservative party, Bulgarian Rise, which is expected to be pro-Russian.
Yanev, who was defence minister in the government of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, was fired due to his openly pro- Russian position since the start of the war in Ukraine. He said he will set up
a new party, Bulgarian Rise, which
will fight to defend Bulgaria’s dignity.
Yanev, who was twice appointed prime minister by President Rumen Radev, was previously the president’s advisor. He became notorious after insisting that the word ‘war’ must not be used for the conflict in Ukraine as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was calling the invasion a ‘special operation’. Yanev claimed the word ‘war’ had
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not been used in any Nato or EU document either.
“New, meaningful and useful for the society formation that will become a bridge between citizens and the state authority,” said Yaven during the ceremony for establishing the party.
A video of the ceremony was broadcast by Dnevnik news outlet on May 5.
Yanev claims that his party will remain close to the people. At the same time, the party will have clear conservative and pro-Russian positions, which is makes it a direct competitor to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and far-right Vazrazhdane.
It is not yet clear whether the new party will gain enough support to enter the next parliament.
There has been speculation that Radev unofficially participated in the party’s establishment but Yanev denied this, saying his project is independent.
The former prime minister also said that he expects an early election in the autumn as the ruling coalition is highly unstable.
While the four parties that back the government recently put aside their differences to back the sending of military aid to Ukraine, this followed lengthy disputes between the BSP and fellow coalition members.
While the BSP is struggling to retain the support of its pro-Russian voters, both Yanev and former BSP member Maya Manolova are setting up their own parties. Manolova is aiming at BSP’s voters.