THE lengthy party political career of veteran politician Spyros Kyprianou ended yesterday as he officially passed on the DIKO leadership baton to its parliamentary spokesman, Tassos Papadopoulos.
Speaking before the party’s National Electoral Conference in Nicosia, an emotional Kyprianou, founder of the Democratic Party, said he would not be seeking parliamentary re-election.
He did, however, stress that he put himself at the disposal of the National Council for any advice they might need regarding the Cyprus problem.
Kyprianou said he disagreed with the way the Greek Cypriot side had handled the recent UN-led proximity talks on a settlement of the Cyprus issue in New York, adding that he disputed the fact that Greco-Turkish relations were improving.
Greek F-16 warplanes landed at the Turkish airbase of Balikesir yesterday for joint exercises with their Turkish counterparts – an historic first in relations between the two states.
The new DIKO chairman. Tassos Papadopoulos. thanked the party members for their trust in him and approval, saying that he had received the order of continuing the struggle that was started by the party founders 25 years ago.
“United we will continue, aiming to make DIKO the primary player in decision making, if not the actual decision maker,” Papadopoulos said.
“A new era has begun in which DIKO will regroup and be revived.”
Papadopoulos urged those members who had left DIKO in the past to return to the party, promising that it would be powerful again.
He did not fail to pay tribute to Kyprianou, whom he called a “tireless fighter” who deserved every honour from party members.
“We thank and honour him,” Papadopoulos said.
In an apparent opening to left-wing voters, Papadopoulos stressed that DIKO was a centre party, and attacked government plans to liberalise state-owned organisations, voicing his disagreement with the “sale of state monopolies to multinational companies”.
“We are the servants of democracy,” he said. “We are the power which keeps Cyprus from being bipolar.”
For DIKO it is the person’s needs which are important, and not numbers, Papadopoulos said.
“The state has to provide all basic services to needy citizens,” he added.
Papadopoulos also pledged to fight nepotism, saying that he would fight passionately to uproot it from the state mechanism.
