Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s power is waning

Source:Financial Times Date:02Apr2019

An astute analysis by David Gardner of FT about why Erdogan is upset  about losing Istanbul and  what he intends to do  going forward:

The focus on the AKP’s Islamist ideology underplays how much its success has depended on economic growth and the distribution of its benefits. The party’s core supporters may well be pious Muslims and traditional conservatives, but the critical factor is that Erdoganism included them in a way that Kemalism never did. It gave them not just identity but also tangible benefits such as schools and clinics. This ability to provide is now in question. The AKP has lost vital patronage at the point of delivery of many public services.

A further erosion of the AKP’s influence has been its growing dependence on the ultra-right Nationalist Movement party, or MHP, who have been creeping allies since 2016. With a formal election pact this time around, a hitherto marginal but extreme party is set to control some provinces.