{"id":34136,"date":"2026-04-20T09:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/34136\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T09:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:30:10","slug":"ali-babacan-erdogan-looking-for-an-opportunity-to-call-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/34136\/","title":{"rendered":"Ali Babacan: Erdogan looking for an opportunity to call elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Babacan: Timing of Elections Depends on Erdo\u011fan\u2019s Political Calculus<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"73\" data-end=\"472\" class=\"first-letter:text-6xl first-letter:font-semibold first-letter:font-display first-letter:mr-3 first-letter:spacing-3 first-letter:float-left\"><br data-start=\"85\" data-end=\"88\"\/>Former Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said early elections in T\u00fcrkiye are effectively a constitutional necessity if President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan seeks to run again, but stressed that the timing will ultimately depend on political advantage. Babacan also criticized current economic policies, warned of damage to SMEs, and called for merit-based reforms in defense and governance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElection Timing Will Be Determined by Political Advantage\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"543\" data-end=\"673\">Ali Babacan stated that growing discussions around early elections are rooted in constitutional realities rather than speculation.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"675\" data-end=\"731\">Speaking about the electoral process, Babacan explained:<\/p>\n<p>President Erdo\u011fan can call elections unilaterally, or<br \/>\nParliament can trigger early elections with a 360-vote majority<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"860\" data-end=\"979\">However, he emphasized that Erdo\u011fan\u2019s eligibility to run again depends on a parliamentary decision for early elections.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"981\" data-end=\"994\">Babacan said:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"998\" data-end=\"1186\">\u201cIf Erdo\u011fan wants to run again, the election must technically be brought forward through a parliamentary decision. Even moving the election forward by a week qualifies as early elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1188\" data-end=\"1240\">He added that the real question is political timing:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1244\" data-end=\"1422\">\u201cThe key issue is when it will serve Erdo\u011fan\u2019s interests. He will calculate how much of the current term he is willing to sacrifice in order to secure another five-year mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paturkey.com\/news\/2026\/chp-lawmaker-alleges-new-highway-privatization-plan-this-is-theft-29996\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CHP Lawmaker Alleges New Highway Privatization Plan: \u201cThis Is Theft\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Criticism of Economic Policy: \u201cWinners Are Foreign Investors\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1495\" data-end=\"1646\">Babacan delivered sharp criticism of current economic policies, particularly the strategy of maintaining a strong currency through high interest rates.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1648\" data-end=\"1663\">He argued that:<\/p>\n<p>High interest rates are being used to attract foreign capital<br \/>\nCentral bank reserves are deployed to stabilize the exchange rate<br \/>\nThe primary goal is not disinflation, but currency support<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1865\" data-end=\"1886\">According to Babacan:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1890\" data-end=\"2006\">\u201cForeign investors bringing in dollars or euros are earning returns they cannot achieve anywhere else in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2008\" data-end=\"2052\">He contrasted this with the domestic impact:<\/p>\n<p>Winners: Foreign investors benefiting from high interest rates<br \/>\nLosers: Turkish SMEs and industrial producers<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2182\" data-end=\"2261\">\u201cThose who produce and export through hard work are the ones paying the price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEconomic Stability Is True Nationalism\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2313\" data-end=\"2425\">Babacan also addressed debates around nationalism, offering an economic definition rather than a rhetorical one.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2427\" data-end=\"2442\">He argued that:<\/p>\n<p>Reducing inflation to single digits<br \/>\nMaintaining currency stability<br \/>\nStrengthening purchasing power<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2555\" data-end=\"2608\">should be seen as core elements of national interest.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2610\" data-end=\"2660\">Referring to his time in government, Babacan said:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2664\" data-end=\"2749\">\u201cProtecting the value of our currency and keeping inflation low is real nationalism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2751\" data-end=\"2873\">He also stressed inclusivity, defining nationalism as embracing all citizens regardless of ethnic or religious background.<\/p>\n<p>Defense Industry: \u201cCompetition Is Essential\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2929\" data-end=\"3073\">On defense industry investments, Babacan acknowledged the importance of state support but warned against concentration and lack of transparency.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3075\" data-end=\"3090\">He argued that:<\/p>\n<p>State support should be fair and transparent<br \/>\nMultiple firms should be encouraged to compete<br \/>\nMerit-based competition strengthens global competitiveness<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3262\" data-end=\"3338\">\u201cCompanies that learn to compete domestically will succeed internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A Reflection on T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Past Global Appeal<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3394\" data-end=\"3488\">Babacan concluded with a personal anecdote highlighting T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s former international appeal.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3490\" data-end=\"3634\">He recalled that former World Bank President James Wolfensohn once expressed a desire to live in Istanbul after his tenure.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3638\" data-end=\"3825\">\u201cThere was a time when young Europeans wanted to come to T\u00fcrkiye for internships and work opportunities. Even a global figure like Wolfensohn wanted to spend his later years in Istanbul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3827\" data-end=\"3982\">He contrasted this with the current trend of outward migration, noting that T\u00fcrkiye had previously been a destination of opportunity rather than departure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Babacan: Timing of Elections Depends on Erdo\u011fan\u2019s Political Calculus Former Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said early elections&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16467],"tags":[22776,21577,22777,22778,471,7098,5294,22779],"class_list":{"0":"post-34136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-recep-tayyip-erdogan","8":"tag-ali-babacan","9":"tag-defense-industry","10":"tag-early-elections-turkiye","11":"tag-erdogan-candidacy","12":"tag-interest-rates","13":"tag-recep-tayyip-erdogan","14":"tag-smes","15":"tag-turkish-economy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116436338300522846","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}