How do you see the scene ahead of the presidential elections?
If we take the experience of all elections from 1990 until today as a guide, we are exactly at the stage where the first thoughts are being made.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]
If we take the experience of all elections since 1990 as a guide, we are at the stage where the first thoughts are being made. There is no set-up, we never had a presidential set-up before July, seven months before the election. Blackmail moves for the same purposes have not been able to "force" processes and the march to 2023 is following the usual, reasonable pace. This necessitates a smooth political life, far from constant electoral activity.
The puzzle of candidates has not been completed, but it is obvious that in the opposition there is a stalemate on the issue of cooperation. To what do you attribute this?
Issues of cooperation for presidential elections have almost always been riddled with infill because reaching convergence on positions requires consultation, concessions and "solutions" that do not invalidate each cooperator or eliminate chances of success. As always, personal ambitions, partisan considerations and other obstacles come into play today. In essence, the only common ground between AKEL and DIKO is the pursuit of power, while they are separated by chaos on the Cyprus problem, international issues and migration. Based on the above, and with a cumulative share of 120,000 out of 560,000 voters, what is the weight of their cooperation? What do you think will be at stake in the presidential election?[/B]
The May 2021 parliamentary elections gave the message: Change is not the rise to power of another political group than the outgoing one. This also applies to the presidential election: Change proclaimed by DISY and Averof Neophytou after supporting Anastasiades' decade of corruption and other ills only provokes anger in sleepy citizens. At the same time, neither AKEL nor DIKO have a moral foundation and political credibility; they lack the capacity to govern. Therefore, what is at stake in the 2023 presidential election is change through the election of a candidate who can present a programme to restore the rule of law, to restore eroded institutions. A prerequisite is that the candidate must have his own foundations, groups of worthy people who can implement change. The only role that parties can play is to support such an effort.
In the past, a handshake between the leaders of two parties largely decided the outcome, given party discipline. Now that assumption no longer exists. From the analysis of the data, do you see movements from one extreme to the other?
Movements from one extreme to the other were already predicted twenty years ago. Critical elements today are the alienation of citizens from the parties and the fragmentation of the party scene. This means that the axiom "party arithmetic does not count in presidential elections", i.e. 20+10 does not make 30, may end up as 20+10=13. For this reason, the weight of any partnerships is highly deficient. Don't forget, today it takes the cooperation of four parties to (if) add up to 50%.
DISY is the only one that has chosen its candidate. Is this in favor of Averof Neophytou or can it have a negative effect on his candidacy?
Several issues are raised: I recall that a few months ago they launched a march to the citizens. They stayed on a march towards Coalitionists, the majority of whom do not accept the leader. At the same time, DISY, with cadres totally submissive to a leader who lost tens of thousands of votes, is generously spreading promises as if it were an opposition since 2000. On the other side, they fail to convince that they have a credible programme and capacity to govern. Given this, only his opponents can provide answers.
As a student of the elections that took place in Cyprus, how difficult do you consider the scenario of DISY winning power for the third consecutive time, something that has never happened before?
At the stage we are at, nothing is out of the question and what we said above probably gives an answer to that as well.
How do you interpret the Christodoulides phenomenon? All polls show that the former minister has a foothold in all political spheres.
It seems to be the result of systematic work and the creation of connections with various bodies and institutions. At the same time, without a shaped scene, without presentation of programmes, without participation in debates and mobilisation of party and other mechanisms, it is extremely precarious to take the picture from the polls for granted. We'll see you again in November.
The next election day could be catalytic, to the point of bringing upheavals on the party and political map?
The results of the 2021 parliamentary elections were already upsetting for the party and political scene. The strengthening of ELAM, the establishment of the PPP and the relative containment of influence by DISY indicate the prevalence of a negative energy and course for democracy. This phenomenon, combined with the disrepute to which AKEL and DIKO, and to some extent EDEK, which are facing a serious existential problem, have been driven, points to a gloomy picture: These forces are not worthy to meet the 2023 challenge of reversing the country's course of decay and corruption. In the face of this bleak picture, only healthy and creative forces, beyond the parties that exist in society, may be able to invest in a candidate of hope.
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