This is GPS, the Global Public Square. Welcome to all of you in the United States and

around the world. I'm Farid Zakaria, coming to you live from New York.

Today on the program, President Biden just finished an important round of meetings with

world leaders in Japan, as the debt-sealing drama continues back home in Washington. We'll

talk about all that, plus Ukraine's coming counter-offensive and much more with a smart

panel just back from Kiev. Also, Pakistan is on edge after its former Prime Minister

Imran Khan was arrested and released last week. Now he fears for his life, and he will join

me for his side of the story.

But first, here's my take. Many of us had high hopes for Turkey's recent general election,

believing that a flat-out victory for the opposition could mark a break with the worldwide

trend toward illiberal democracy. But perhaps we were all misguided, seduced by the lure of

free elections and trusting ultimately in the will of the people. In fact, what happened

in Turkey last week highlights the latest and most disturbing trend in the rise of illiberal

democracy. While incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not outright win re-election

last weekend, the results were sort of a victory for him all the same. He did better than

the polls predicted and came out well ahead of his main opponent, leaving him highly likely

to win in the runoff scheduled for May 28th. This is stunning, given that Turkey is a country

in economic catastrophe with sky high inflation. The vote also took place just months after

an earthquake in which the government performed miserably. Considered though the backdrop

to these elections, Erdogan was up against Kemal Kilich Darulu, the opposition candidate,

a colorless bureaucrat without much charisma or eloquence, but the opposition had little

alternative. The president had already eliminated from the field, perhaps the most powerful potential

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