In Turkey, the decision has been postponed. Incumbent Erdogan and his challenger Kilicdaroglu have to go to the runoff. That may surprise many in the West. But it’s not really a surprise.
One wondered at times whether one had gotten the date wrong. Could this really be May 14th? The day that will decide Turkey’s future. The streets of Istanbul? Empty and quiet like not since Corona. Cafes and restaurants? Partly closed. And Taksim Square in the evening? A lifeless concrete landscape over which a few tourists, tired of shopping, shuffled.