Analysis-Erdogan thrusts NATO expansion issue into Turkey's tense election campaign

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers of his AK Party during a meeting in parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 18, 2023. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

ANKARA (Reuters) - Two provocative incidents in Stockholm this month have energised Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan ahead of tight elections and dimmed Sweden and Finland's hopes of joining NATO before the summer, diplomats, analysts and opposition politicians say.

Erdogan was quick to thrust the issue of NATO expansion into domestic politics after a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, was burned at the weekend, and an effigy of the Turkish leader was strung from a lamppost a week earlier.