Why an irked Erdogan fired Turkey’s central bank chief

Erdogan’s sacking of central bank chief Naci Agbal after just four months in office describing a big interest rate hike two days earlier as simply “the last straw”.

Agbal’s shock dismissal by Erdogan, whose dislike of orthodox monetary policy is well-known, has pushed Turkey to the cusp of another currency crisis.

Albayrak and Agbal are seen as representing two key factions of the AK Party (AKP), which has ruled Turkey for two decades under what analysts describe as an increasingly authoritative and impulsive Erdogan.