Political uncertainty adds to an already ugly picture in Turkey

The loss by Turkey’s AK Party of its parliamentary majority for the first time since 2002 makes President Erdogan’s desire to change the constitution to strengthen the presidency a pipe dream and should in time help to dampen concerns about an increasingly authoritarian streak to policymaking and a more general diminution of checks and balances on government. But in the near term, the coming weeks are likely to be marked by uncertainty over coalition negotiations. This will remain the focus of markets, which have already delivered a resoundingly negative response.