Despite Turkey’s serious economic issues, massive inflation, and currency decline, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected to a third term as president, bringing his total tenure in office to 25 years. Erdoğan narrowly defeated opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the second round on May 28. Numerous factors explain Erdoğan’s success, including repressing the opposition, instilling fear, and dispersing economic benefits despite the challenging economic climate. Erdoğan’s personality is also a factor, as are social processes in Turkey. Still, none of these elements will be powerful enough to keep him in power if economic reserves continue to diminish.