Frixos Dalitis
Stefanos Stefanou and Nikolas Papadopoulos spoke on the phone the previous days and agreed as soon as the conditions allow them to lock their first official date. Yesterday afternoon, they were caught by the coronavirus as the secretary general of AKEL was diagnosed positive and therefore, the appointment is postponed for a few more days.
After the meeting of the two leaders of the opposition, the circle of contacts with all the parties of the opposition will essentially open. The meeting of Nikolas Papadopoulos with Marinos Sizopoulos and Stefanos Stefanos with the president of EDEK will follow. Next is the meeting with Charalambos Theopemptou of the Ecologists, who asked for time in order to complete the internal party procedures as the decisions for the presidential elections will be taken at the level of a political committee for the Ecologists, which has not been formed yet.
The news that emerges, however, is the information that wants Nikolas Papadopoulos and Mario Karoyan to prepare to build bridges of cooperation by opening a communication channel in order to arrange appointments between them. The meeting, of course, will take place in the context of the wider contacts that will take place between all the opposition parties for the presidential elections. However, it is the first time since the crisis between the two that eventually led to the establishment of DIPA, that there is even a theoretical discussion about the prospect of the two participating in a wider cooperation for the presidential elections. Of course, as in the case of the Ecologists, the internal party processes in the Democratic Party must be completed with its statutory and electoral congress on Sunday, February 20th.
SEE ALSO: War and Peace at AKEL for the presidential elections
What can be seen in general is very careful moves made from all sides in order to maintain a good climate that strengthens the prospects for cooperation. The element that seems to emerge is the common approach that the process must be collective in all its stages, so that there is no question from any party that it will be faced with decisions taken.
At the same time, the avoidance of reference to nomenclature is evident from all sides. This part is the most difficult point of the equation for cooperation, so there is an attempt to prioritize the conclusion of an agreement in a political framework of cooperation that will be the governance program. At the same time, the dialogue will determine the criteria based on which they will sew the suit and then find the person who could fit in it.
In the course of the discussion, the name of Nikolas Papadopoulos will definitely be the first on the table from DIKO. Beyond that, the difficulties that exist at the AKEL base are well known. Both sides are not absolute. From DIKO's point of view, they say that the name of Nikolas Papadopoulos is not a red line. From AKEL's point of view, despite the fact that they remind the position that it would be better to avoid the discussion about the party leaders, however, they have not closed the door completely. The big question is what happens next. The information, however, states that the data has not changed. At DIKO, some continue to believe that in case of a shipwreck, the choice of Christodoulidis may be an alternative choice. A scenario that some consider to be used mainly as a lever of pressure on AKEL in the event of the rejection of Nikolas Papadopoulos. However, it is a fact that there is a trend within DIKO that is pushing in the direction of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs.
As far as AKEL is concerned, the data remain the same as to the possible names that could fall on the dialogue table. In any case, however, it is estimated that in the context of the dialogue, other options are likely to emerge. The names of Tassos Christofidis, Achilleas Dimitriadis are heard as possible options in case of failure of the effort to cooperate with DIKO. The name of the former Foreign Minister Eratos Kozakou Markoullis and the negotiator Andreas Mavrogiannis are also included in this scenario.
The meeting of Pindar and Ministers
This morning will be the wide meeting convened by the president of DISY Averof Neophytou. The meeting, which will take place at the Cleopatra Hotel, will be attended by all executives, members of the party's Executive Office, government alarm ministers, party MPs and MEPs and mayors. The aim of the meeting, according to the information, is to coordinate action at all levels in order to have a corresponding policy outcome. That is, to be able to promote the relevant bills and reforms in Parliament so that they can be voted.
