DISY followed the trampled one in these parliamentary elections as well, building a ballot puzzle, with elaborate unconnected pieces, in order to manage to “fit” in it all the tendencies, all the classes and all the political-ideological approaches to everything. as far as the Cyprus issue is concerned. After all, the base of the Democratic Alarm consists in nature of unrelated pieces and therefore its ballot paper should include options that correspond to both the bourgeois and the middle class, both the conservative and the progressive part and that also correspond to the patriotic and the realistic school of thought regarding the Cyprus issue.
For all tastes
The answer to why DISY has a little of everything on its ballot is therefore at the base of its voters. Criticism certainly remains as to why it does not “sacrifice” that portion of its followers who are apparently at a distance from the official line of the party leadership on issues critical to the place such as the Cyprus issue and sensitive issues such as immigration, the environment and others. And of course the answer is very simple: Because it will weaken. From the Far Right awaits ELAM in which there is already an escape of votes, next to it is now EDEK, DIKO has always been an escape route, now there is also DIPA, while the corruption of power and mainly the indignation and anger of citizens for corruption puts in the frame of the alternative vote and the Ecologists, who seize the opportunity to host among themselves people who could easily have been choices of alarmist voters with a progressive sign.
The ballot for all tastes was obviously a one-way street for Averof Neophytou, as it was in the past for his predecessors. In any case, for DISY there is no question of “clearing up” and under the umbrella of multi-collectivity and freedom of expression of every executive, member and voter, everything and everyone fits. It is, after all, a recipe tried and successful in previous matches. Now, of course, there is another unknown aspect, the devaluation due to the frustration in the management of the naturalization scandal, which clearly weighs more than any other political space the DISY, as the ruling party, but it is an obstacle that would be in the passage of the Democratic Alarm with or without a multi-collection ballot.
Patriots and patriots
In Cyprus, until at least the previous election process, apart from the family party tradition, the weight of the party, its leader or the candidate in relation to the Cyprus issue was a weight for the vote. Traditionally, DISY embraces the patriotic space, maintaining in each pre-election period speeches and appearances in patriotic associations, cafes and other national-conservative spaces. In every pre-election contest, photos of DISY executives with a moderate stance on the Cyprus issue talking next to or in front of photos of Grivas or EOKA inscriptions, make the rounds of the internet with captions such as “decide”. DISY is certainly not going to decide, nor will it give the patriots to ELAM. On the contrary, he will continue to offer them options, in order to keep them in his ranks, with candidacies such as those of Eleni Stavrou in Limassol and Mina Sampson in Nicosia.
The criticism remains that the party's official line on the Cyprus issue is far from over, and the question for a voter who supports the positions publicly adopted by the DISY president to return to the negotiating table with the agreed framework for a solution on a bi-zonal basis bi-communal federation is: why choose a vote in DISY, which as a whole satisfies its multi-collection base and not clearer voices? Of course, the question is who has the clear voice.
Clerides School
And since the right-wing party succeeds, why not continue to balance between the nationalist and the realist school of thought?
For several years and especially after the government of Glafkos Clerides and the “yes” in the referendum of Nikos Anastasiadis, DISY votes a significant portion of moderates who support the solution of the Cyprus problem, have bi-communal contacts and believe that they can live peacefully with the Turkish Cypriots federal solution. Their difference with the Left is that this audience is European-oriented, believes in the EU and the role it plays in the development of democracy and human rights, and strongly disagrees with the economic philosophy of the Left, having more liberal views based on competitiveness through the free market.
Urban Nicosia
Most of the prominent DISY executives meet this profile of voters, with most of them being in Nicosia and not by chance, as the alarms of the capital are traditionally the most progressive and moderate in relation to the Cyprus issue. In Nicosia, Nikos Tornaritis, Dimitris Dimitriou, Xenia Konstantinou, Savia Orfanidou, Michalis Sophocleous are options that can attract the bourgeois of the city. Similarly in Larnaca Annita Dimitriou and in Limassol Fotini Tsiridou.
In terms of the economy, the most attractive candidates are that of Haris Georgiadis in Nicosia, who is appreciated by the people of the Democratic Alarm, who believes that he did a good job of managing the economy in the post-haircut period when he was Minister of Finance, despite his responsibilities. attributed to him for Cooperation. Also, Marios Mavridis in Kyrenia, a well-known economist, often out of line, but with the courage of his opinion, attracts the interest of voters due to his coverage in the media in every crisis and financial storm.
Right middle class
In Cyprus, especially in the previous years of the financial crisis, due to the high salaries and other benefits of the huge public service, the semi-governmental organizations, the local self-government and the banks, a special – compared to other countries of the world – has developed a medium class, which can or at least was, when possible, politically satisfied with even the most liberal positions and views of the Right on socio-economic issues. Candidates who are addressed to the middle class of the Alarm base are, among others, Efthymios Diplaros, who comes from the local government, well aware of the problems of the local community of Limassol, Filios Fylaktou in the province of Nicosia, coming from the former trade union ranks. Marios Pelekanos, president of the teachers' union and also a former member of the SEK.
Dinos Odysseos is a chapter in itself
From the Aristide choices of the president of DISY Averof Neophytou, the one that caused a great impression, but also reactions on social media, was the general director of ANT1 Cyprus Konstantinos Odysseos.
Odysseus' candidacy comes at a time when the world's outrage over corruption is at its peak and is being externalized by social media users regardless of political space and color. Criticism of Mr. Odysseus' inclusion on the ballot is directed at him, as he has been one of the most vocal critics of those in power, which weighs heavily on the government that supports the party he is currently running for.
The choice of Konstantinos Odysseos is clearly one of the successes of Averof Neophytos, who in this way can claim to accept criticism and lead a space that accepts to be judged and criticized even from within.
On the other hand, Mr. Odysseus himself argued for his decision, and had good arguments to oppose the criticism he receives, mainly that he weighed the data, takes nothing back from the criticism he expressed and decided that as “one from you “, now being from within, he can succeed in changing things, rather than shooting from outside.
It is a question of whether the explanations he gives convince the audience that hastened to criticize him. However, there were many posts that show a reversal of the climate against him. The ballot box will clearly show the real picture and the answer to the dilemma “better from outside shooting or from inside and fighting?”.
Averoff's Aristides
The selection of DISY's Aristide candidates was not an easy task for the party president Averof Neophytou, who wanted to show on the one hand that he takes into account the anger of the citizens, and he achieved this with the inclusion of Konstantinos Odysseos in Famagusta, and by on the other to include people who will attract a new audience for the Democratic Alarm, while impressing in places where there is currently sensitivity, such as gender equality and the fight against human trafficking. Rita Theodorou Superman's candidacy in Kyrenia corresponds to just that. She was in charge of the Anti-Trafficking Office of the Cyprus Police and was awarded the title of “Trafficking in Person 2016 Hero”.
The president of the paraplegics organization, Dimitris Lamprianidis, is also an excellent candidate of DISY, who is also politicized with the argument “to fight from the inside, rather than from the outside and shoot” for all those who have a bad image of our country towards the rights of the paraplegics and the chronically ill.
Impressive is also the candidacy of Elena Mouzala in Nicosia, an internationally renowned pianist, who was named among the 100 most important Greeks of all time in 2009 in the show Great Greeks of Sky and BBC. Her candidacy records the intention of Averof Neophytos to claim with claims the vote of the people of culture.
Aristides are joined in Nicosia by the well-known doctor, specialist pathologist-oncologist George Astras, Maria Kokkinou Bege, public relations consultant, Stelios Kythreotis, businessman, and Andreas Pentaras, retired lieutenant general. In Famagusta, apart from Konstantinos Odysseos, the journalist Nikos Symeou and the academic Christina Chatzisotiriou are from Aristide.
Elections in Larnaca and statistics
The DISY ballot in Larnaca will be filled with an electoral process for two vacancies that remain, as four candidates were automatically included in the ballot of this province, due to quotas (women, young people). The four candidates who have been automatically included, due to quotas, are Annita Dimitriou, Anna Kosma, Poet Pantelis and Andreas Ttaouxis.
The three who will be put to the vote are Giannakis Filippou, Makis Georgiou and Prodromos Alampritis.
According to the statistics of the complete ballot of DISY, 14 candidates – 25% – are women, the average age of the candidates is 46 years and 64% of them are candidates for the first time.
