Yet another crisis in the right’s crowded tower block. This time it is the party’s former leader, Averof Neofytou, who has grabbed the matches. He has rushed to declare his candidacy for the presidential election of February 2028!
His stated reason? The “non-developments on the Cyprus problem“. He was quick to write off the whole effort, 17 months before the election. And he did so at the very moment Holguin, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, said she will visit Cyprus in October for talks. She also announced that the convergences document has been completed. The prospects may not be in sight, granted, but things are still moving.
You could argue that Holguin’s intervention wrecked the former DISY leader’s narrative. In his declaration, he said that “the window of hope for the Cyprus problem sadly remained closed…” And why did it stay closed? Because “the country’s leadership preferred the beaten path”. In other words, there was no progress and no process got under way because the leadership isn’t listening (really?), so the leadership is to blame. Why the blame lies with the leadership rather than the occupying side is another matter, and one for another day.
The early launch was designed to… tilt the pitch. Averof knows his football, having once been president of the historic Evagoras. But can his gambit pay off? Will DISY back him to avoid reliving 2023? The party plainly cannot afford a second 2023. Yet “adopting” him as its official candidate, the way this has unfolded, would look like the party being dragged along and blackmailed by its former leader.
Neofytou’s intentions had been known for some time, as he had already set up his own campaign team and machinery. Even so, party headquarters on Pindarou Street seemed caught off guard by the move. He did, however, tell journalist Frixos Dalitis on the philenews vidcast that he had informed Annita Demetriou of his plans.
DISY is facing a new crisis because it ducked the one in 2023. The leadership’s reaction to the defeat in that year’s presidential election was not what anyone would have expected. The stance some party figures took between the first and second rounds was something never before seen on that scale: backing AKEL’s candidate, the supposed “arch-enemy”. And the way the aftermath was handled kept the… wounds open.
And that new crisis is already here. The party leader has already signalled her interest in running. Is this meant to be the “fitting riposte” to Averof? Is that what politics is about? The real question for DISY is whether it can get past this crisis.
There appear to be at least three options. First, Neofytou moves outside party procedures and the party goes ahead with its own candidate. That means going their separate ways, in which case both may well miss the second round. Second, having weighed up the pros and cons, DISY backs Neofytou and takes the risk of a 2023 rerun. That scenario is already off the table, since Demetriou has gone down the same road as Neofytou and signalled her own interest in running. Third, whatever Neofytou does, DISY backs Nikos Christodoulides from the first round. Right now, that looks like the safer bet.
PS: In his interview on the philenews vidcast, Averof also mentioned a dinner (attended by him, Demetriou and one of her aides) at which an understanding was reached: Averof helps Annita get re-elected House President, and she helps Averof in the presidential election!
