At a recent rally to open the campaign before municipal elections in March, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was heckled by a group of public workers demanding jobs. But he was having none of it.

“Do not expect anything from us”, a visibly angry Mr. Erdogan scolded the upstarts at the rally in the eastern province of Sivas. “I’m not an ordinary politician and do not provoke this meeting”.

Other supporters cheered, drowning out the protest. But it was a moment telling of Mr. Erdogan’s vulnerability as ordinary Turks feel the deepening pain of the country’s economic slide for the first time in his 17 years in power.

After long unbroken growth, Turkey is entering a recession amid falling investor confidence and a credit crisis. Bankruptcies have increased. Unemployment and inflation have hit double digits. Rising prices, especially at the vegetable markets, have become a national obsession.

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