Reports of a new post-election cooperation proposal between the Presidential Palace and DISY headquarters are persisting, as wider concern grows within Cyprus’s centre-right over the prospect of political instability, mutual attrition, and the possibility of a double electoral failure in both parliamentary and presidential elections.
The discussion, according to sources, begins at the Presidential Palace, runs through DISY’s Pindarou Street headquarters, and extends into broader DISY circles.
Political scenarios under consideration include a parliament unable to form stable majorities and a deepening civil war within the right-wing camp — conditions that, sources say, are keeping the conversation alive at a backstage level.
New data points
Three factors are feeding the broader discussion, sources say.
The first is the Sandy affair, which many in these circles regard as a sign of how the post-election landscape could develop — with allegations being used to create conditions of destabilisation.
The second is the Cyprus issue: sources estimate that developments could emerge from summer onwards, making political coordination between the two sides a potential necessity.
The third is the prospect of a cabinet reshuffle, which sources say is likely either in summer or from autumn, and which could serve as a vehicle for bringing the two sides closer.
For a post-election political alliance to materialise, sources say, the groundwork needs to be laid before the elections — something that is described as practically almost impossible in the current climate. Nevertheless, certain steps are being discussed that could unlock the conditions.
On the Presidential Palace side, sharp critical statements from DISY cause irritation — particularly when they come from figures whose personal positioning towards Christodoulides is seen as hostile.
On the DISY side, references from the Palace to the portmanteau “disakel” — which groups DISY and AKEL together and is associated with ELAM’s political practice — are regarded as a red line.
Sources on both sides acknowledge mutual suspicion and say individuals on each side actively attempt to torpedo any bridges being built.
The two sides came close to an arrangement twice in the recent past, most recently last summer, when the Limassol mountain fires and the political tension that followed derailed the effort. Each side holds a different reading of how much blame the other bears.
The House presidency and ministerial posts
The broader prospects are also bound up with the election of a new House President. Annita Demetriou, though she has never officially declared her intentions, is expected to seek re-election.
If she wins, sources say, she would likely exit the presidential race equation and her candidacy could create conditions for intra-party changes within DISY.
Whether she can win is another matter. Based on current polling, no scenario gives her a majority without ELAM’s support.
The leadership statements of ELAM, sources note, suggest the party could back a DISY candidate in a final round — but not Demetriou specifically. Whether Christodoulides could play a catalytic role in creating those conditions is an open question.
Within DISY, there is also murmuring about alleged covert support from circles close to the President for ELAM candidates.
Reference is made to a specific incident in which a very close associate of the President is said to have directed votes towards a particular ELAM candidate in Limassol.
At the same time, sources on both sides recognise that an alignment between Christodoulides and Demetriou would represent an effort to re-bond the DISY fragments left by the 2023 split — wounds that, sources say, have not yet healed.
Such an alignment, the same sources note, would also create a common front against shared threats, including allegations that votes are being channelled from within DISY to parties beyond ELAM — among them ALMA and Direct Democracy.
