Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is aiming to drive home an election victory to extend his rule well into a third decade and maintain the mix of foreign and economic policies that have set the country apart on the world stage.
Erdogan, 69, defied opinion polls that had projected a slim win for opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, in the first-round vote for the presidency two weeks ago, sending the currency to new depths and corporate bonds and stocks tumbling. The pair now face each other in Sunday¡¯s runoff, with the momentum behind the incumbent after the governing alliance led by his AK Party retained its majority in parliament.
Kilicdaroglu focused his campaign on restoring Turkey¡¯s credibility among international investors, ending the authoritarian style of leadership and rooting out corruption from state institutions. A win for him would see the end of Erdogan¡¯s diktat that the only way to fight inflation is to cut, rather than raise, interest rates. That, though, now appears less likely and financial markets are bracing for more pain.
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