Last Updated On: Jun 01 2021 08:42 Gmt+3 Today, Turkish rulers take every opportunity to disregard the European Union’s fundamentals in order to claim Turkey’s singularity, if not superiority. The EU paradigm has become a liability in the face of an increasingly authoritarian if not totalitarian regime in which the arbitrary of the one-man rule has become the rule. The EU membership perspective has entirely disappeared from Turkey’s political agenda since early 2021. The centuries-old anti-Westernism of Turkish politics is now riding a wave and West-bashing has become the favourite topic of Turkish political life. Ankara, through its actions and declarations, rejects EU membership even when it pays lip service to lure “hot money” lenders or to charm Turkey appeasers in Europe. As for the opposition, EU membership does not mean more than the regime.