The political congress of DIKO to be held on Sunday will not lock any candidate's name for the nomination, but will define the political framework within which the party leadership will move towards achieving cooperation with other parties, starting with the opposition forces.
On Sunday, the DIKO base is expected to give the leadership a mandate to initiate contacts with other parties, with the focus of interest certainly on the major opposition party. The informal exploratory contacts with AKEL took place in a very good atmosphere and, according to sources from both parties, confirm the relationship of trust cultivated between the leaders of the two parties. Nicolas Papadopoulos and Stefanos Stefanou understand that their political future passes through the cooperation of their parties, so that they can fight the battle of 2023 with claims. In this sense, they put aside any bitterness of the past and in the coming days they are expected to start a structured dialogue to explore the possibility of cooperation. According to statements by the leaders of the two parties, they will seek convergence on the major issues in order to formulate a common framework of principles on which to base cooperation. This will be a prerequisite for moving on to the next stage, which is to find the candidate with whom the big battle will be fought.
Delicate balances
From the discussion so far in DIKO it appears that there are cadres who prefer a candidacy of Nicolas Papadopoulos, which, however, can hardly be passed by AKEL, which considers that it is better to seek a third candidate who can lead the effort and become the agent of the effort for political change. Other DIKO officials are putting the name of Nikos Christodoulides on the table, which has been ruled out by AKEL anyway. According to reports, the name of Giorgos Pamporidis, which has supporters and dissenters in both parties, could be on the table if he is qualified by DIKO and put before AKEL.
The reservations and even disagreements heard in AKEL about the case of George Pamporidis are seen by DIKO officials as a very good reason for the name of Nicolas Papadopoulos to be put forward as the party's first choice. AKEL's position is that no one has a lead over anyone because there is simply nothing tangible yet in terms of discussing names of possible candidates. "There are thoughts, names are proposed, discussions are held, but in substance there is nothing concrete, nor can there be if the political framework within which the cooperation between political forces will be established is not preceded," an AKEL source told the Cyprus Times.The case of DIKO supporting the candidacy of Averof Neophytou is not being considered, at least at this stage.
It is worth noting that DIKO's announcement ahead of Sunday's congress stresses that the party's goal "is modernisation, openness to society and the achievement of the change that our people desire and aspire to."
The congress will be held on Sunday at the Strovolos Municipal Theatre, with the participation of around 500 delegates in physical presence and over 700 others participating online due to the pandemic. Before the delegates will be presented the draft Political Declaration approved by the Central Committee, which concretizes and sets the political basis on which DIKO will move. With the approval of the declaration at the Political Conference, the party leadership will start a cycle of contacts and consultations with other political forces seeking cooperation.
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