OPPOSITION party DISY have officially named Ioannis Kasoulides their man for the 2008 elections, in what is the only constant in a race that has left pundits second-guessing left and right.
On Monday night, the party’s Political Bureau by unanimous vote endorsed the Kasoulides nomination.
The decision is expected to be ratified today during a meeting of DISY’s Supreme Council, which Kasoulides himself will reportedly be attending.
Kasoulides, an MEP and former Foreign Minister, claims to be running as an independent, despite his political career being inextricably linked to DISY.
With DISY’s backing alone, the MEP should not expect to garner more than 30 per cent, if that. It is hoped the stratagem of portraying Kasoulides as someone not weighed down by “party baggage” will broaden his appeal among the electorate.
Recent polls have shown that as much as 20 per cent of voters are as yet undecided, which would leave the race wide open – at least in theory.
But other than Kasoulides’ candidacy, few can predict how the 2008 campaign will pan out.
It all hinges on whether AKEL goes for a standalone Christofias nomination. An internal party vote has given the communist chief an 80 per cent plus approval.
Still, it is far from a foregone conclusion that Christofias will take on the communist mantle – that decision rests with AKEL’s Central Committee and a congress that is scheduled for early July.
AKEL’s strength in the last legislative elections was measured at around 31 per cent.
Papadopoulos, meanwhile, has the unconditional backing of DIKO and socialists EDEK, which together amounts to 27 per cent. It’s obvious from the numbers that a three-way race would necessitate a runoff.
Analysts are already thinking ahead as to who will back whom in the event of a second round. AKEL have vowed never to support a DISY candidate, but have not received the same assurances from the Papadopoulos camp – straining relations between the coalition partners. Meanwhile Kasoulides has said he will leave it up to his own supporters to make up their mind in case he fails to go through.
DISY boss Nikos Anastassiades yesterday went on the war path, accusing the Papadopoulos administration of losing the initiative to Turkey when in December 2004 it balked at vetoing the start of accession negotiations between the EU and Ankara.
According to Anastassiades, DISY had “authorised” the President to exercise the veto, implying that Papadopoulos had given away a major bargaining chip.
“In 2004, we handed the key to a solution over to Turkey,” commented Anastassiades.
Papadopoulos rebutted the allegations, saying that on December 17, 2004 he spoke with Anastassiades on the phone and they agreed that a veto would not be necessary.
“Mr Anastassiades agreed with me. After all, he is not in a position to authorise the President of the Republic,” said Papadopoulos.
Not one to shy away from verbal jousting, Anastassiades also let fly at socialist leader Yiannakis Omirou, who earlier had called DISY a neo-liberal and conservative party, adding that co-operation was out of the question.
Employing idioms from the Cypriot dialect, Anastassiades reminded Omirou that leftist and rightist political forces worked together in a number of European countries, but also in the European Parliament.
“Mr Omirou is out of touch with reality… he’s living in his own world,” he said.
