Officials and members of the Democratic Party (DIKO) see continued cooperation with President Nikos Christodoulides’s government as the party’s safest and most stable option ahead of the presidential elections, party sources said.
The leadership heard this view during recent meetings with mayors and local figures, held as part of a dialogue with the party’s grassroots.
Party sources gave two reasons. First, internal tensions in the Democratic Rally (DISY) do not inspire confidence and do not favour an alliance with a prospect of victory. Second, neither former DISY leader Averof Neofytou nor Giorgos Pamborides appears to have generated momentum among DIKO supporters for cooperation.
Some in DIKO remain wary of the party’s relationship with the Presidential Palace, and others would have liked another option, but the direction is now set.
The idea of a centre-right alliance has not disappeared in some DIKO circles, but the shift in the political landscape appears to have made it less likely. A message has reportedly been sent behind the scenes to DISY’s headquarters that any idea of cooperation would be difficult even to discuss.
The latest cabinet reshuffle is not the main factor behind DIKO’s stance. Besides the situation in DISY, the party is now at a distance from the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), with a wide gap between them on all major policy issues, from the Cyprus problem and the economy to foreign policy.
DIKO is waiting for Christodoulides to formally announce that he will seek re-election before starting its own preparations for the elections. His candidacy is considered a given, but he needs to make his intentions official so the party has a basis for its decision.
The party’s preparations are expected to begin in the new year and will include talks with other parties and candidates, with the leadership signalling that DIKO is open to discussions with everyone.
AKEL Green Line tour
AKEL took international delegations on a tour along the Green Line in Nicosia on Friday so they could see for themselves the reality of the Turkish occupation and the continuing division of Cyprus, whose consequences are visible in the divided capital.
The delegations are in Cyprus for the International Symposium on the Left and the Modern World, held as part of events marking 100 years of the Communist Party of Cyprus-AKEL.
In a statement, AKEL said it used every opportunity, international contact and event to highlight the Cyprus problem and build solidarity with the Cypriot people’s struggle to end the Turkish occupation and reunify the island. Internationalising the Cyprus problem was a constant priority of its work abroad, the party said, drawing on its wide network of relations with political and social forces around the world.
Through such initiatives, AKEL said, it seeks to keep the Cyprus problem on the international agenda and build support for ending the occupation and for a solution on the agreed basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as set out in UN resolutions.
