It’s a case of hard cheese for those Turks who voted for the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the late June snap poll but who have since changed their minds about their populist leader amid the collapse of the Turkish lira (TRY) and runaway inflation.

According to a survey by Metropoll, an Ankara-based polling outfit, Erdogan’s job approval rating fell to 44.5% in August from 53.1% in the previous month, Al-Monitor reported on September 5.

The survey data published on Metropoll’s Twitter account offered no additional information because the company’s monthly report is circulated privately to paying clients. Erdogan, whose powers were expanded after the election result with the inception of Turkey’s first ever executive presidency which abolished the role of prime minister, has over his 16 years in power always picked up a great many votes from producing a thriving economy. But the economic success has been fuelled by foreign currency-denominated debt and the bill might be said to be coming due.

The TRY is down by slightly more than 40% against the dollar in the year to date and inflation is running at a 15-year high of nearly 18%.

Prior to the June elections, critics claimed Erdogan had brought them forward from the previously scheduled date of November 2019 because it was clear Turkey was set to enter a period of economic strife, placing many votes in jeopardy.

Municipal elections due in March 2019 will be a critical test for Erdogan. The president on September 4 told reporters en route home from a visit to Kyrgyzstan that he might consider fielding joint candidates with the far-right National Action Party (MHP) in a repeat of his alliance with the group in the presidential elections.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) shot to power in November 2002 in the midst of an economic collapse. The jury is still out on whether there is any possibility it might fall from power should the latest economic woes become that much more critical.