Erdogan stares at fall as personal ambitions shapes policy

Hitler dreamt of ruling the world, Mussolini wanted to be the leader of a new Roman empire. Saddam Hussein wanted to be the next Nebuchad Nezzar - the longest-ruling, and the most powerful leader of the neo-Babylonian empire, however, Saddam's life and regime ended tragically.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to be the Caliph - the ruler of the Muslim world. The Turkey president's stint too seems to be staring at an end.

Erdogan is showing all signs of an imminent fall. He has been losing friends at home, friends abroad and losing voters even as his country's coffers have been losing money. These are typical signs - this is how authoritarian leaders fall. A leader is supposed to cater to his country, however, Erdogan has fed his personal dreams.

He wants to be the Caliph. He took on Saudi Arabia and wanted the loyalty of the Muslim world. So he picked fights with Europe. Erdogan needed Pakistan's support, so he raised Kashmir at the UN and burnt bridges with India.

The Turkey president needed votes at home, so he turned the museum of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Erdogan's theatrics were rightly rewarded - he lost votes at home and earned sanctions abroad.

His party lost its hold on Ankara and Istanbul as two big allies left Erdogan both citing economic decline. Malaysia, Georgia, Ukraine, Kenya, Nigeria across the world autocrats have fallen after their top allies have left.

An opinion poll found that 18 per cent of Turkey's voters would vote a former confidante of Erdogan. The poll was conducted in July 2020 and Erdogan's record has worsened since. Turkey's isolation is evident as is Erdogan's fall.

Leaders who are driven by their personal ambition lead their countries to disaster. US President Donald Trump let his personal whims dictate his policy as America lost friends and allies and Trump lost the election.

Chinese president Xi Jinping is another example. Xi has been guided by his personal desire to rule the world and driven his country into a crisis. Personal dreams cannot drive a country.

Trump couldn't make America great again, Chinese hawks and scholars are unhappy with Xi Jinping.

If a leader shapes his policies on personal ambitions, he is bound to fall.