Monday’s leadership meeting at DISY headquarters on Pindarou Street produced news: Annita Demetriou will seek the party’s nomination for president. Officially, nothing has been confirmed, but sources say the DISY leader was not negative about the scenario during the discussion.
Demetriou told the meeting that her final decision would be announced once the picture on the Cyprus problem became clearer. She said she intended to make one more attempt to build consensus among all potential contenders, with the aim of the party going into the presidential election as united as possible.
Several leadership members said the picture needed to be clarified, both on the process for choosing the party’s candidate and on Demetriou’s own intentions. According to the sources, what remains to be settled is the timing of any announcement of her interest in the nomination.
Two approaches emerged during the discussion. The majority view was that the whole process should be completed by the end of the year, after which Demetriou should announce her decision as soon as possible; the argument made was that more time would give the party a better chance of overcoming tensions and disputes and letting unity prevail. The second approach, put forward mainly by party spokesperson Onoufrios Koulas, was that the process could be completed by March, since a year-long campaign period was more than enough. It was also decided that leadership meetings will now take place weekly, to assess developments and coordinate both on policy and on the party’s communication line.
This is expected to be settled once the party formally opens its discussion on the presidential election. The prevailing view on Monday was that no move should be made while the UN General Assembly is under way and while developments on the Cyprus problem remain possible. The party’s internal debate on the presidential election is therefore expected to open around mid-October, with Demetriou’s announcement to follow accordingly.
Several leadership members said Demetriou appeared to have the best chance of winning the election and should go ahead and announce her interest. She gave no negative response, which suggests her intentions point in that direction.
Party official questions timing
A DISY official, commenting on philenews’s Monday report on the outcome of the leadership meeting, questioned what would happen if a significant development on the Cyprus problem emerged from New York, where President Nikos Christodoulides is attending the UN General Assembly. “Last time it became an issue with the party poll that came to light while Antonio Guterres was still in Cyprus. Now they’re discussing the presidential election and the president’s candidacy while the UN General Assembly is under way, and it’s possible a serious development could emerge, even a trilateral meeting on the Cyprus problem. They clearly haven’t learned their lesson,” the official said.
Monday’s meeting was a first assessment of the political landscape by DISY on how to manage the issue. It was attended by DISY’s Legal Council head, Chris Triantafyllides, and communications adviser Panos Tsiridis.
The timetable and the process will go to the leadership first, then to the Executive and Political Bureau. If there is more than one candidate, the process will begin with candidacies being submitted and an election date set. All party members will have the right to vote, under the party’s statute.
Diplaros and Karousos resolve dispute
The same sources say the atmosphere at the meeting was good, with Efthymios Diplaros and Giannis Karousos both saying they had no issue between them. The two met over dinner on Friday evening, after mediation by a third party, and resolved their disagreement.
On the issue of Nikos Tornaritis, the prevailing position was that it would not be pursued further, since everyone makes their own choices. It was noted, however, that once the party selects its presidential candidate, anyone sitting on a collective party body will be expected to support DISY’s candidate. Tornaritis, a former MP, is a member of DISY’s Political Bureau and can continue to take part, though he is not expected to attend its meetings.
It was also made clear that the party should continue to state its position on all policy issues with a clear, unified voice, putting forward its own stance and, where it disagrees, highlighting its differences with Nikos Christodoulides and his government. A meeting with the parliamentary group is expected in the coming period to coordinate ahead of the state budget discussion.
