DISY boss Nicos Anastassiades yesterday lashed out at political quarters he claimed were engineering the growing rift in the opposition party, warning the saboteurs that the party would survive and triumph in the June Euro elections in spite of their nefarious plans.
The outspoken leader’s comments came as another prominent party figure openly expressed opposition to the leadership’s line; deputy Demetris Sillouris announced he was resigning as the party’s parliamentary spokesman.
“The heavy climate created as a result of a complete lack of unity, and the absence of any intention for brainstorming and reaching a consensus for the good of Cyprus and of the party… prevent me from retaining this position,” read Sillouris’ announcement.
He went on to urge “the rest of the leadership” to resign, ”so that we might overcome the current problems.”
Sillouris, however, will not be relinquishing his parliamentary seat or his membership in the party’s Political Bureau. Speculation has been rife on Sillouris’ next move, given that he had openly voiced opposition to DISY’s stance on the referendum, stopping short of joining forces with expelled deputies Prodromos Prodromou and Riccos Erotokritou.
Anastassiades said he was “saddened” by Sillouris’ decision, but refused to comment on the call for resignations. “I’ve already said what I think of this mentality, furthermore Sillouris – and everyone else in the party – has the right to his opinion.”
He went on to attribute the deepening division in DISY ranks to quarters who “are orchestrating a widespread campaign at disrupting political life in Cyprus. This affects other parties: not just our own.”
The implication was that the Presidential Palace was behind attempts at exploiting disagreement inside parties over the Annan plan; Anastassiades specifically named socialist EDEK as another “victim” of this sabotage campaign.
“These efforts shall not be tolerated by our party and our supporters…we had similar problems in the past, though admittedly on a smaller scale, and we overcame them,” he pointed out.
The embattled DISY leader has drawn fire from all sides, both from within and outside his party, after canvassing for a ‘yes’ vote in the April 24 referendum. But it was his formal complaint to the European Parliament that prompted widespread condemnation.
Days before the referendum, Anastassiades addressed a letter to the President of the European Parliament Pat Cox charging President Papadopoulos and his associates of media meddling and using the government apparatus to turn public servants against a solution.
The move earned the DISY leader the tag of “traitor”; and two weeks ago an ultra-nationalist group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on his home in Limassol.
Last weekend Anastassiades withdrew his complaint, explaining this was in the name of “unity.” But the government now says it wants the European Parliament to investigate the allegations, because it does not want a tarnished image to hang over Cyprus.
Foreign Minister George Iacovou has said that the complaint’s withdrawal of its own was not sufficient, hinting that Anastassiades may have had ulterior motives for doing this and that, in any case, the “damage has already been done to our country.”
Political commentators suggested that Anastassiades’ move was aimed at quelling discontent and preserving some party unity ahead of the Euro Parliament elections, just a few weeks away; a poor showing in the elections could be devastating to the authority of DISY’s leadership, which has doggedly defied calls for it to step down.
Attempts at compiling a “compromise list” of Euro MP candidates – comprising supporters of the both camps – failed last week, when former DISY chairman Yiannakis Matsis turned down Anastasiades’ offer. Instead, Matsis sided with expelled deputies Prodromou and Erotokritou, who will be running independently in the June 13 elections.
DISY alternate chairman Averoff Neofytou said over the weekend that no decision had been made regarding Matsis’ status in the party; and press reports suggested the leadership would postpone dealing with the matter until after the Euro elections.
Given the discord amid DISY ranks, the party could fall short of electing its quota of two MPs to the European Parliament, meaning the seat could be taken up by one of the other parties, under certain conditions. If that happens, the current leadership would probably have its work cut out staying in power.
