A story involving an imam, the pope and a Mercedes-Benz may sound like the start of a bad joke, but this is a true story that reveals a great deal about Turkey's political path with just 10 days to go before elections. The tale began around six months ago, when Turkish newspaper Hurriyet uncovered a budget that revealed state funds were being used to buy the head of Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs an S500 Mercedes-Benz worth $385,000. The story didn't gather steam until early May, in the thick of Turkey's election season, when Turkey's opposition parties took turns pouncing on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government for its exorbitant spending habits. The would-be owner of the flashy car, Mehmet Gormez, opted to escape the controversy by sheepishly declaring that he would return the car and "set an example.