Hitler nostalgists. Golden Dawn offsprings. Far-right. Nationalists. Bigots. ELAM’s leadership has attracted many labels over the years, more than a few of them carrying a distinctly negative verdict on the party’s ideological compass and the policies it wants to implement.
Now, in a move that rather proves the point of those who accuse it of authoritarian instincts, ELAM has made headlines for an election billboard. The message: No to marriage and adoption of children by same-sex couples.
“So what?” some will shrug. Fine. Add two more labels to the list: homophobic and transphobic.
Nobody seems to care much anymore. Those who idealise the far right — or ELAM itself — turn a blind eye to the fact that the party shares its DNA with what a court verdict described as a “murderous criminal organisation operating under the guise of a political party.” That was the court’s verdict on Golden Dawn. ELAM’s supporters absorb that detail and move on without apparent discomfort.
ELAM’s affection for Golden Dawn runs deep. As Christou himself once admitted, the party actually applied to take Golden Dawn’s name before settling on ELAM — a request that was ultimately refused.
His supporters also overlook Christou’s personal relationship with Michaloliakos, whose enforcer he was. They overlook every compromising association and every stain on the party’s past. They overlook the fact that ELAM applies no democratic procedures to its own internal structures, including the selection of its leadership. They don’t even blink at the fact that the top figures of Cyprus’s most nationalist party never served in the National Guard.
Nothing to see here. So why, then, should an anti-LGBTQ slogan raise any eyebrows? Why should anyone stop to wonder whether a party advertisement sits at the outer edge of legality, brushing up against hate speech legislation? Why should anyone be troubled by the fact that the party is openly sympathetic to scrapping legislation that aligns Cyprus with EU standards on civil partnerships for same-sex couples — legislation that exists precisely to protect the rights of a minority?
Even if none of the above registers as significant for anyone, this at least ought to matter: ELAM chose to spend a billboard attacking LGBTQ families rather than addressing youth poverty, the housing crisis, and the absence of support services — which happen to be among the primary drivers of falling birth rates.
