Is Deputy PM Babacan packing his bags?

Two pieces of news from Ankara over the past month carry hints about the future of economic governance in Turkey. The first is the hushed appointment of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan’s media consultant Halit Ertuğrul to the Central Bank as a consultant. The second is Treasury advisor İbrahim Çanakçı’s appointment to the IMF as a director.

What the two pieces of news have in common is that these officials are both among Babacan’s closest colleagues, although they serve different functions. Babacan’s decision to “entrust” both of his colleagues to two different institutions, which are rather more secure from the shadow of politics, is conspicuous.

Neither of these officials is going to start working in their new positions immediately and Ertuğrul may not have to be working “actively” in the Central Bank, though it is known that he will begin his duties in November. The fact that both of these appointments were made on the eve of the Aug. 10 presidential election strengthens the impression that Babacan, who is entrusting his closest colleagues to safer places, will not have a place in the Cabinet after the elections.

Obviously, if the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) “three term rule” does not change, Babacan will not be able to participate in the general elections of 2015.

Deputy PM Babacan and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek are seen by financial markets as the “wise” politicians of the Cabinet due to their economic policies. The question being ever more frequently asked is: If Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wins the presidential election, will these two ministers have a place in the newly formed Cabinet?

Why is this question...