Politicians should know 'when to pull trigger' of the finance gun

I won?t make movie or book recommendations, although the heading of the column suggests the opposite.

However, it is almost impossible not to remember the legendary words of Mario Puzo in The Godfather series when considering the conflict between several top actors in the Turkish government and the head of the Central Bank.

?Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger,? Puzo said in The Godfather.

You know the story in Turkey, but let me just remind you in a few sentences: There has been increasing pressure on the Central Bank to slash interest rates. President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said the Bank?s latest 50-basis point rate cut was ?insufficient,? saying that securing investment and employment was impossible at current rates.

Erdo?an told a news conference in January that the Bank had ?still not got the message? on interest rates and he would share his views with the prime minister and the relevant ministers.

?If we want investment in Turkey, if we are creating jobs, it?s not possible with this rate. It should go down so that there will be entrepreneurship and competition,? he said.

Yesterday, even after the announcement of the latest inflation data, the Bank said that indicators pointed to inflation trending lower, adding that it would next assess the policy outlook at its scheduled meeting on Feb. 24.

However, a barrage of criticisms of the Central Bank then followed. Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said it should have held an interim meeting to cut rates. Erdo?an?s aide Yi?it Bulut took to Twitter to say that rate decisions should not be solely based on domestic price dynamics.

Some points may need to be clarified here: First of all, Turkey must do more than slam the...