Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said he will ignore “campaigns” based on “astonishing gossip” that “disrupt the climate of trust and stability in our economy, which we achieved with great difficulty”.

Erdogan, who was clearly, but indirectly, referring to allegations made against the country’s central bank governor and her father, outlined his position on January 24 during a meeting held to announce mayoral candidates for Ankara province.

On January 18, daily Sozcu published an official submission filed by Busra Bozkurt, a former central bank employee. She claimed in a petition filed at the Presidential Communications Center (CIMER) that she was wrongfully fired by Erol Erkan, the father of the central bank chief, Hafize Gaye Erkan, whom Erdogan appointed in June last year. An intriguing aspect to her allegation is that Erol Erkan, who has also been accused by some parties of giving instructions to other staff at the regulator, is not an official central bank employee.

Though bne Intellinews reported on January 19 that the head of the national lender was threatening “legal fisticuffs” over the tabloid attack, this publication also observed: “If Erkan makes the mistake of exercising her legal rights, the ensuing trial will indeed deliver an entertaining episode. Yet it would not have any impact on the country's monetary policy or Erkan’s position at the helm. All we have here is another tabloid story that distracts from the tragedy that is modern-day Turkey.”

The “campaigns”, as Erdogan describes them, have since January 18 continued, since neither Erdogan nor finance minister Mehmet Simsek have publicly pledged support for the governor.

However, with the apparent backing offered by Erdogan on January 24, Erkan keeps her post as of now.