Gauging the Political Fallout From Turkey's Massive Earthquakes

Turkey's recent massive earthquakes will impact the country's election campaign, potentially making it even more difficult for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to maintain control over the legislature and presidency in upcoming elections. 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck near the Turkish cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep in the early hours of Feb. 6, killing thousands and causing widespread destruction in both southern Turkey and nearby northern Syria. The earthquakes are the deadliest Turkey has seen since the 1999 Izmit earthquake near Istanbul, which killed over 17,000 people and cost over $6.5 billion in damages. While the full scale of the infrastructural and humanitarian damage caused by the Feb. 6 quakes is still being accounted for, the disaster also has the potential to cause significant damage to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party's political prospects ahead of the next general election, which will likely be held in...