As elections approach, Turkey’s president finds enemies everywhere

Canan Kaftancioglu to nearly five years behind bars and banned her from politics. Her crime was to have posted messages deemed insulting to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on social media several years ago. She was transferred to prison on May 31st but immediately released on probation. Her case, she says, shows what Turkey’s opposition can expect over the coming months. She is a politician from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (). The court system is beholden to Mr Erdogan, she says. “The courts decide on the basis of what passes through the lips of the man in the palace.” The presidential and parliamentary elections Mr Erdogan faces next year look set to be the toughest of his long career. The official inflation rate has now topped a staggering 73%. The true figure may be in triple digits. Opinion polls suggest that most Turks have no faith in the country’s statistics agency. And even more pain may be in store. Turkey’s currency, which recovered at the start of the year thanks to the introduction of a deposit-insurance scheme and sales of dollar reserves by the central bank, is now bracing for another crash landing, following Mr Erdogan’s promise of new interest-rate cuts.