Turkey nears referendum on Erdogan’s two-decade rule
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dives Sunday into the final two-week stretch before a momentous election that has turned into a referendum on his two decades of divisive but transformative rule. The 69-year-old leader looked fighting fit as he strutted back on stage after a three-day illness and tossed flowers to rapturous crowds at an Istanbul aviation fest on Saturday. It was the perfect venue for reminding Turks of all they had gained since his Islamic-rooted party ended years of secular rule and launched an era of economic revival and military might. He was flanked by the president of Azerbaijan and the Ankara-backed premier of Libya — two countries where drones built by his son-in-law’s company helped swing the outcome of wars. Istanbul itself has become a modern and chaotic megalopolis that has nearly doubled in size since Erdogan came to power in 2003. But hiding beneath the surface are a more recent economic crisis and fierce social divisions that have given the Ma...
