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Stefanos Stefanou and Nicolas Papadopoulos yesterday launched the dialogue ahead of the presidential elections, highlighting the narrative for a change of course but both recognise that this will require a lot of effort and mutual concessions for the project to come to fruition.
Moreover, perhaps the most important factor that both leaders take into account is that decisions at the leadership and collective body level of the parties should be embraced by their base, i.e. their voters, but beyond that, it is important that they are accepted by broader sections of society.
Consequently, the eligibility of the candidate is the cornerstone of the effort and this is precisely where things start to get more complex. AKEL and DIKO appeal to different audiences which can hardly be satisfied by the same voice on a number of issues which play a decisive role in the choices of left and centre-right voters.
Asked whether his own name is on the table, the DIKO president said that they have not entered into this discussion but added that there is a consensus on the criteria for the presidential candidate. For his part, the AKEL secretary-general said that in any effort to work together, once there is a solid basis of recognition of the urgent need for change in the country and an end to this governance, then there is a commonly agreed objective which can guide them in this work. "With respect and mutual recognition of priorities, we will seek convergence and consensus."
Hasten slowly
Against this complex backdrop, Stefanos Stefanou and Nicolas Papadopoulos are moving with very careful steps to exhaust every possibility of seeking cooperation on the basis of the decisions of their collective bodies. The first meeting more than met the needs of the filmmakers and photographers, since it formalised the start of the dialogue between the leaders of the two parties, who, in any case, have been in informal communication for days, which gave them the opportunity to codify the framework within which they will move from now on.
Although they do not seem to be in a hurry, Stefanos Stefanou and Nicolas Papadopoulos understand that they do not have unlimited time at their disposal, and certainly neither wants the dialogue to be allowed to degenerate. The two leaders will use the next period of time to consult internally with their party executives at a collective level to chart the way forward.
New appointment
The first meeting between Stefanos and Papadopoulos will be followed up very soon at the level of the two leaders, who will in the meantime begin contacts with the other opposition parties, with the president of the DIKO stating that he will take the initiative for a meeting with the president of the EPP, Marinos Sizopoulos. "We believe that we are united by common struggles in terms of efforts to improve the political and social facts of our country and therefore this will be our pursuit," Nicolas Papadopoulos said.
According to information, the meeting will probably be set next week.
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