Holidays over, how's the campaign going? When will Mr Mavroyiannis announce his positions?
Our election campaign is in full swing after the short summer break. We have already started and will continue to hold private meetings and round table discussions with organisations, institutions and NGOs on various topics in the framework of the formulation of our pre-election programme, preceded in July by the issues of Education, we continued on Friday with the Environment, with a central focus on the New Green Governance. This will be followed by Economy, Health, Gender Equality, Culture, Social Policy and specialised issues.
At the same time, the programme includes tours around the country to continue our contact with citizens and meetings in various regions and communities. We consider this contact one of the most important components of our campaign as it gives us the opportunity to discuss with society the real issues that concern it. Mavroyiannis' vision and key programmatic positions will be announced in October, but as you understand this is a dynamic process where the enrichment of the program will continue along the way.
Our goal is a Governance Program that reflects what we want: for our country and its people to see better days.
On Cyprus, Mavroyiannis' positions are well known. On the economy, which way will he move?
He will move towards an Economic and Energy model based on sustainable and sustainable development, the transition to a green economy, ensuring the welfare state and synergy between a modern public sector and the private sector in order to continuously improve the quality of life of our people. That is, after all, what is at stake, the improvement of our quality of life. To achieve this, we want an economy that is not based on temporary profit and unfair enrichment for the few, as we have seen happen in recent years, but an economy that produces benefits for the many and can at the same time support those in need. An economy with healthy growth and a social dimension.
How independent can a candidate who expected to get a party endorsement to announce a candidacy be?
Mavroyiannis himself had stated from the outset that support from one or more major political forces for change can give a non-partisan candidate winning prospects for real progressive change rather than a procedural switch in the exercise of power.
Therefore, what determines "independence" is his record to date and the way he is currently politicking, not apparently the order of things. Mr. Mavroyiannis has served our country for 35 years, both in Cyprus and from positions abroad, with ethics, honesty and a sense of duty, for the defence and promotion of the interests and positions of our country and for a just and peaceful solution to the great problem of our country, the Cyprus problem. He worked with five Presidents of the Republic, with technocrats and state officials from across the political spectrum with the same dedication and determination. It is with the same respect for institutions and people, and the same sense of duty, that he is running for the Presidency of the Republic. This is what makes him the only one of the three main candidates a truly independent candidate.
Do you expect Mr Mavroyiannis' candidacy to receive the support of any political force other than AKEL?
We have absolute respect for the internal party procedures of each political force and obviously we await their decisions, but we also expect equal cooperation with the political forces that have not yet taken their decisions. A meeting has already been held with the Ecologists - Citizens' Coalition Movement, to whom we have also extended an invitation to co-draft a Green Agreement for a New Green Government. A meeting has also been held with the Democratic Party, at which meeting there were significant convergences. But in addition to the political forces, we are appealing to all those who believe that things are moving in the wrong direction and who agree with us on the need for real change. We appeal to all those who do not tolerate corruption, insecurity, inequalities and look forward to better days with transparency, accountability and prosperity for all and not for the few.
What do you consider the biggest challenge in this electoral effort?
The biggest challenge is to achieve our goal. And our goal is none other than winning the election, not with power as an end in itself, but by treating power as just another tool for achieving public interest goals, for the common good, for the many. A tool to improve the quality of our lives.
It is undoubtedly a big and difficult challenge, but we have a road and time ahead of us to talk to the people, to unfold our positions, to convince them and to win their trust, always with sincerity.
If you make a comparison with the 2018 presidential election, what would stand out?
Every election has its own characteristics. Society changes, concerns change, voters' expectations change, the way of communication and the impact of different media changes. Each time is a new challenge. I believe in elections with political content, with a fruitful debate of positions and proposals to society, so that citizens can listen, compare and choose. This time, therefore, the refusal of Nikos Christodoulides to expose himself in this process by hiding behind the "consultation of society" undoubtedly stands out. The elections have a specific stake, they determine who will hold our fate and the fate of our country in their hands for the next five years. It is unthinkable not to know what everyone stands for. Let me say again, this is a political process and not a TV show.
Can Mr. Mavroyiannis become what we call "the new Kingdom"?
I don't like to make comparisons, I believe that each person, each public figure, charts his or her own course in the era in which he or she lives. One thing is for sure, Mr. Vassiliou was an extremely successful President who changed our country at the time. And I am sure that if he were re-elected, the course of our country's history would be different, for the better. Now as far as Mr. Mavroyiannis is concerned, he has his own characteristics, his own vision and his own understanding of the role of the President of the Republic and the exercise of power. Characteristics that not only make him the most suitable among the candidates for the position of President of the Republic, but let me say, characteristics that we really need for this position.
What would you say to a disappointed voter to try to convince him to go to the ballot box?
In democracy, a vote is power. And we have a responsibility to use that power to make our lives better. I fully understand the frustration felt by a large portion of voters. And how could they not feel frustrated, after all, when on the one hand a large portion of society is being hit by the inexactness, the increases, the uncertainty, and at the same time we see in the public eye the shaky system of illicit enrichment and billions built around a program of naturalization, interlocking and conflict of interest by whoever was in power. It is the same frustration I feel for my country, it is why I say we do not deserve what we are living. We deserve better and we must demand it. Our vote is the means to achieve it.
Why should we vote for Andreas Mavroyiannis?
Because Andreas Mavroyiannis is the one who can lead the effort for progressive change. To achieve what I mentioned earlier. The effort for reunification, to make Cyprus again a modern, reliable state that we can all be proud of when we hand over to our children. Certainly not the state of corruption, abuse of power and unjust enrichment that we saw in the Audit Office report. Andreas Mavroyiannis has those characteristics that a President of the Republic must have in order to achieve this: experience in Cyprus and abroad, administrative ability, education but also broad-mindedness, social sensitivity, seriousness, efficiency, ethics and honesty.
I also believe that Andreas Mavroyiannis has one particular characteristic that sets him apart from all the others: his understanding of the role of the President of the Republic, the Government he will lead and the role of the state towards its citizens and society. A state that must serve the citizens and not, as we have experienced, those who rule it. Andreas Mavroyiannis himself speaks of a "debt to our country". A debt, as he often says, to make Cyprus the hospitable place of our dreams. He does not believe, as others do, that the country owes him, but that he owes our country and its people.
It is time to turn the page and I am convinced that Andreas Mavroyiannis is the man who can lead our country forward better than anyone else.
Which candidate do you prefer in the second round?
The only certainty is that in the second round we will be facing one of the two sides of the same coin. That is, with an unopposed candidate who is a continuation of the outgoing Government. Both Averof Neophytou and Nikos Christodoulides are a political cloning of the Anastasiades - DISY government. So whether one or the other, the question that each will be asked to answer is continuation or change? Three main candidates, but two options.
And who do you choose in case Andreas Mavroyiannis does not make it to the second round?
Andreas Mavroyiannis will be in the second round of the Presidential Elections and we will fight this race with optimism for his election to the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus. I am optimistic about the result because the country needs a change from what we are living and because the only one who can express this current of change is Andreas Mavroyiannis.
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