Turkey’s president deserves to lose on June 24th

WHAT does a president have to do to destroy the trust of Turks? Debauching the currency, poisoning relations with Europe and America, locking up tens of thousands of innocent people, muzzling the press, reigniting a civil war and fiddling with the constitution to gain the powers of a sultan surely ought to be enough. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has done all that and more in recent years. When voters cast their ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24th, they should show him the door of his vast new palace in Ankara.There was much to admire in Mr Erdogan when his Justice and Development (AK) party first took power in 2002. He showed that an Islamist party could govern with moderation; women in Turkey are free to wear what they like. The economy has boomed. GDP has more than doubled, and the results, in terms of roads, bridges and, above all, plentiful and cheap housing, are plain for all to see. The army was tamed, Kurdish-language rights were recognised and accession talks to join the European Union began in 2005.