Turkey's Erdogan signals economic U-turn in picking orthodox Simsek

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan greets his supporters following early exit poll results for the second round of the presidential election in Istanbul, Turkey May 28, 2023. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Saturday his newly-elected government would return to more orthodox economic policies when he named Mehmet Simsek to his cabinet to tackle Turkey's cost-of-living crisis and other strains.

Simsek's appointment as treasury and finance minister could set the stage for interest rate hikes in coming months, analysts said - a marked turnaround from Erdogan's longstanding policy of slashing rates despite soaring inflation.