Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed a second five-year term last weekend. His government's record since 2002 should have made victory a given, but fears that it would drift toward more Islamic fundamentalist rule had tempered enthusiasm for his Justice and Development Party, or AKP. The results demonstrate faith in Mr. Erdogan's commitment to Turkey's secular government and the country's democracy.

Mr. Erdogan took office in 2002 when the AKP won 34 percent of the last parliamentary vote. While in office, he has pursued probusiness policies that tamed inflation — which dropped from 18.4 percent in 2003 to 9.7 percent in 2006 — while managing to generate economic growth of some 7 percent annually. The economy has expanded for 21 straight quarters, the longest period of growth since the country was founded. Foreign investment hit a record $20 billion in 2006.

That impressive record was thought to be in danger of being trumped by fears that Mr. Erdogan was pressing an Islamist agenda and would undermine Turkey's secular traditions. The most damning mark was his nomination in April of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for president. Mr. Gul is a pious Muslim whose wife wears a head scarf. The nomination prompted a warning from the chief of the general staff, who said the military would be prepared to intervene in politics if it felt the country's secular traditions were at risk. That was no idle threat: Turkey's military has launched four coups and ejected a government it considered too Islamic in 1997. The warning prompted Mr. Erdogan to call parliamentary elections several months early to solidify his position.