Will local election defeat force Erdogan to improve ties with West?
Turkey needs better ties with the United States and Europe to heal the ailing Turkish economy, but experts are not optimistic that Erdogan will do this.
![TURKEY-ELECTION/ People walk past by AK Party billboards with pictures of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and mayoral candidate Binali Yildirim in Istanbul, Turkey, April 1, 2019. The billboards read: " Thank you Istanbul ". REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1FFDD2DBA0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/04/RTS2FV1G.jpg/RTS2FV1G.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=wC8_E-wY)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to downplay the defeat his party suffered in Turkey’s local elections March 31 by pointing out that mayoral candidates from his Justice and Development Party (AKP) gained a plurality of votes nationwide.
Technically he is justified in saying that if general elections were held tomorrow, the AKP would win again.