On the defensive in recent weeks as the economy slipped into recession and the lira lurched from one crisis to another, Erdogan has lashed out at enemies at home and abroad, warning bankers of a “heavy price” to pay for feeding the currency chaos. At stake is control over hundreds of mayoral districts and local councils across Turkey’s 81 provinces, which stretch from its borders with Greece to Syria. Against the backdrop of a worsening economic downturn, the opposition is working together in a rare joint effort to deliver a rebuke to Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted movement.
