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Opinion
Bobby Ghosh

Erdogan Leads Turkey Deeper Into Political and Economic Crisis

A recent threat to oust diplomats appears to be the latest attempt to distract attention from worsening domestic problems that have spooked investors.

Few checks and balances.

Few checks and balances.

Photographer: Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

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Who can protect the Turkish economy from the maneuvers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan? His threat to expel 10 Western ambassadors may have been withdrawn, but not before the lira took another severe shellacking.

The diplomatic flare-up may have been the latest attempt to distract attention from the careening currency and reverse Erdogan’s own plunging popularity. The episode made clear that there are few checks and balances to the power he wields.