A poisoned chalice awaits Turkey’s election winner: The economy

Don't envy whoever wins Turkey's election this month. The victor could immediately be blown off course by strong economic headwinds. 

In the first decade of his 20-year rule, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rode an economic boom — driven in part by manufacturers and exporters from conservative Anatolian heartlands that supported his ruling AK Party — turning Turkey into one of the buzzing emerging markets to watch. Robust growth — averaging more than 7 percent annually between 2002 and 2007 — was once Erdoğan's proudest boast.

Over the second decade of his rule,...