Turkey’s president fails to see off his most powerful rival yet
Annulling Istanbul’s mayoral election looks like a grave error
CARS STREAMED down the main avenues of Turkey’s biggest city on the night of June 23rd, music and horns blaring. Street parties erupted in several neighbourhoods. Young people danced into the small hours. Ekrem Imamoglu, the man responsible for the commotion, stood atop a double-decker bus near his home, surrounded by a sea of elated supporters, and spoke the words that had become the rallying cry of his campaign. “Everything”, he said, “is going to be great.”
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Making him stronger”
Europe June 29th 2019
From the June 29th 2019 edition
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The return of Europe’s oldest scourge
Once dominant, Germany is now desperate
As an election looms its business model is breaking down