If Turkey sacks its strongman, democrats everywhere should take heart

BENEATH THE Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, home to the Ottoman sultans, a monument to another imperious leader has been on display. The Anadolu, Turkey’s first domestically built aircraft-carrier, was ordered into the Bosporus last month, as the country prepared to vote in an election on May 14th that is the most important anywhere in the world this year. By showing off the warship, which is making a campaign tour of the coast, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes to fire up patriotic voters. But his charisma, grand gestures and giveaways may not be enough. The man who has ruled Turkey since 2003, in an increasingly autocratic style, could face defeat.