Frixos Dalitis
The rails on which they want to move on the road to cooperation with the other opposition parties were determined yesterday by the DIKO Secretariat, codifying and concretizing the conclusions of last Sunday's conference. Everyone's attention is now focused on the first meeting of the leaders of AKEL and DIKO, where the framework on which the two parties will move in the effort to find a common formula for cooperation will be essentially deleted. What is being seen on both sides at this stage is the common will to exhaust all room for cooperation on the basis of a common governance program.
The remarkable thing of yesterday's session of the DIKO Secretariat is the common will of the leading group to enter into a dialogue process with the other opposition parties, but also non-parliamentary groups and social groups without proposing the name of Nikolas Papadopoulos. This of course does not mean that from DIKO's point of view, the name of its president is not a priority. However, the intention to discuss first the context and then the names, is an important parameter, which essentially wants to send the message mainly to Hezekiah Papaioannou that DIKO wants and is ready to work together for change. As we are informed, what was said yesterday is that the dialogue with the other political and social groups should start first with the proposal of establishing a joint program of positions on which the cooperation will be built. In this context, the “sewing of the suit” of the person who will be able to lead this collaboration will also take place. In other words, each side will set the criteria that it considers that a President of the Republic should have who will lead the effort of establishing a political and social alliance for change. Second also noteworthy is the fact that DIPA is not removed from the contact frame.
According to our information, what is being studied by DIKO is the formation of a group, which in the first stage will frame the party president in his contacts with AKEL and other opposition parties. Mainly EDEK and Ecologists. This group will then be able to function as a kind of technical committee, which will be responsible for discussing and co-creating the political framework on which the governance program will be built. But this is something that is expected to be clarified in the coming days and before the official appointments as well as at this point there should be an agreement on whether the appointments will be made at the level of leaders or whether there will be an escort of delegations from the others. political parties.
As we are informed by AKEL, they viewed with a particularly positive eye the speech of Nikolas Papadopoulos at the DIKO conference on all issues and especially regarding the issue of the Cyprus issue. His statement that the way to find hope for a solution to the Cyprus problem must be rediscovered is one of the points where they believe that a common framework for cooperation can be built.
All this so far creates a positive climate on which to set up the cooperation. The first appointments will take place next week.
>> Results of opinion polls of DIKO members
The first in-party online opinion poll of DIKO members was conducted in the context of the conference proceedings.
The results were presented during the political conference by the vice president of the party, Antonis Antoniou.
Based on the findings, the members of the Democratic Party, in a percentage of 97.6%, consider the government policy for dealing with the immigrant / refugee to be insufficient. 93.7% claim a national minimum wage and 86.2% believe that defense spending should increase to 2% of GDP as suggested by DIKO.
SEE ALSO:
DIKO: Political declaration in view of presidential elections 2023 Papadopoulos: DIKO will be the government or the co-government in 2023 Presidential: The ball at the DIKO stadium
More specifically, the vast majority of DIKO members (97.6%) do not consider the government's policy to deal with immigration sufficient and favor the adoption of additional measures as proposed by the party.
Regarding the content of the Local Government reform as it has been formulated in the House of Representatives (20 Municipalities), 61.5% of respondents are dissatisfied while 38.5% are satisfied.
MALAS: He is not interested in being a candidate
Stavros Malas is not interested in being a candidate for the 2023 presidential elections. The two-time AKEL candidate, who lost both in 2013 and 2018 in the second round to Nikos Anastasiadis, clarified yesterday that he is not interested in entering the battle and of these presidential elections. Stavros Malas, who was a guest at Alpha, commented on the processes related to the presidential elections and the actions of AKEL. “My opinion is heard where I have to express my opinion and it will be heard very soon in terms of my personal views. What interests me is to see our country progress, because in my estimation our country has been led in recent years to a disrepute regarding the level of corruption and the management of the Cyprus problem. “I put in the equation the huge problem of the economy”, he stated, among other things,
He pointed out that the next government should work collectively and bring society closer to politics, otherwise it will not serve our country. He cited as an example George Vassilios, who, he argued, managed to break through party boundaries and rule from the bottom up.
Asked whether he embraces the views expressed by Irini Charalambidou, after stating that he will not speak on behalf of Ms. Charalambidou, he indicated that in politics you must have a consistency and continuity in terms of positions of authority. “What the country needs is not a change of power, but a change of mentality, to take us further. I do not even believe in the term progressive forces. There are progressive people in all political arenas but the one who will be elected as a progressive person should first of all have a characteristic. “Reliability,” he concluded.
KOLOKASIDIS: Against the proposal for MOE
The strong disagreement with the proposal for MOE was expressed once again through a written statement by the candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, George Kolokasidis. He wonders about the return of Famagusta and notes the danger of recognition from the legalization of the illegal airport of Tympos. “What return of Famagusta is he talking about?” The part of Famagusta that is supposed to be returned is only a fraction of the whole city. And this is returned to the UN and not to the Republic of Cyprus. “Finally, this place will be enclosed, surrounded by occupation troops with all the dangers that this entails,” he wondered. He adds that the real danger concerns the airport of Tympos, indicating that any isolation, to which reference is made, does not belong to the Turkish Cypriots, but is a result of the illegal occupation and nothing else. “Essentially, the foreign minister admits that the legality for the operation of the occupation airport will decline. Legality, however, is the ultimate advantage of the Republic of Cyprus. No one, absolutely no one, has the right to offer it as a gift or to reduce it. And if the Turks get legalization of the Press, they will have no incentive for a solution. “And that is when we will be left with the division,” he says.
