President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s struggle to cling to power in a tight election in Turkey is the latest twist in a tale of global strongmen who are defining Joe Biden’s presidency.
Erdogan’s fate will have major implications not just for his country’s democracy, which he has worked to weaken, but for US foreign policy too. Although Turkey is a NATO ally, Erdogan has often frustrated Washington – for instance, by cozying up to Russia and suggesting a rapprochement with Syria.
Vote counts late Sunday put Erdogan ahead but slipping below the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff that could lock him out of power or lead to horse-trading among key figures to extend his rule.
Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu vowed to undertake “any struggle necessary” to secure rights, law and justice for Turks. “Our people should be confident that we will definitely win, and we will bring democracy to this country,” he said. He also accused authorities of preventing the counting of ballots with the highest percentage of the opposition vote. Erdogan said he believed final vote counts would show him above 50%, enough to avoid a potentially risky runoff.
Erdogan has perplexed successive US presidents. In recent times, his civility toward fellow strongman Russian President Vladimir Putin has vexed the US as it seeks to save Ukraine’s sovereignty following Moscow’s unprovoked invasion more than a year ago.
Biden’s entire presidency has unfolded in the shadow of autocrats, assaults on democracy and aspiring strongman leaders – abroad, and most remarkably at home.
His eventual White House legacy will be dominated by his showdown with Putin and reinvigoration of the trans-Atlantic alliance to support democracy in Ukraine with a multibillion-dollar pipeline of aid and weapons.
America’s most important foreign policy challenge…
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