THE GLARING absence of DIKO members in the chairmanships and vice-chairmanships of the semi-government organisations (SGOs) announced yesterday leaves a gaping hole in the government coalition whose future now stands on a precipice.
DIKO spokesman Fotis Fotiou made it abundantly clear yesterday that his party was particularly unhappy with President Demetris Christofias’ handling of the SGO appointments. The coalition partner pulled out of the SGO race late on Thursday when the party organs decided not to have any member taking the chairmanship or vice-chairmanship of any SGO. In protest at Christofias’ alleged lack of fairness and objectivity in deciding on the new boards, DIKO instead submitted lists with three members proposed for each SGO board, of which the president was only supposed to select a single member.
Given that this is the same tactic followed by right-wing DISY as a member of the opposition, the latest spat between the government and its partner leads the most cautious observer to suspect that DIKO has shifted into warp speed with its final destination, the opposition.
Fotiou spent half the day yesterday trying to convince reporters that it was not a question of not getting enough DIKO members in top positions or on the boards, but a “matter of principle”.
Speculation was rife, however, that DIKO had placed a high priority on keeping the chairmanships of certain key SGOs after the terms of most boards were due to expire yesterday. The SGOs as bodies which implement government policy were mainly chaired by DIKO members, appointed under the previous government.
Among the most coveted bodies are the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), which DIKO particularly wanted to hang on to.
Fotiou rejected claims that DIKO threw its toys out the pram on learning that they were going to lose the CTO, among others. He insisted that there were “very serious reasons” for pulling out of the race, adding that the president left the party with little choice. “His approach was not fair and objective,” said Fotiou.
The spokesman maintained that his party did not wish to push things to breaking point, but neither wanted to be held responsible for things it did not control, hence, the decision to include only one member on each board. “Our goal is to return our collaboration (with the government) to the right foundations and principles,” he added.
However, with virtually zero participation in the highly-coveted SGOs as most of the spoils went to AKEL and EDEK, it remains to be seen how Christofias can prevent his coalition partner from jumping ship, barring a cabinet reshuffle to DIKO’s liking or a major policy shift on the Cyprus problem. This then begs the question how long will this government alliance last.
Fotiou dismissed as “lies” suggestions that the party was seeking a greater share of the pie or wanted to keep the same share that it had under the Tassos Papadopoulos government.
Instead of trying to insult DIKO, people would “do well to focus on the essence of the issue, and finally understand that proper, constructive and beneficial political cooperation should have as its basic foundation mutual respect and understanding”, he said.
Fotiou fended off a barrage of questions as to how to achieve mutual respect or “principled” foundations, but he did drop a hint that perhaps not enough appreciation was shown for DIKO’s support of Christofias as presidential candidate in the second week of the elections. He also questioned the correctness of giving certain parties a majority on the boards. DIKO’s beef appeared to be the appointment of board members from minority movements or organisations that supported Christofias in the first round of the presidential elections, the fear being that they were effectively in AKEL’s pockets.
AKEL spokesman Stavros Evagorou expressed regret for DIKO’s position, and called on the party to explain what matters of principle led it down this path. He said that the president had been “particularly generous” with DIKO, regarding the seats it would have had on the SGO boards, had it stayed on board.
“If reasons of principles are massive political differences, or problems on the national issue or differences in philosophy on domestic governance, let’s sit down and discuss. If reasons of principles are the CTO, CyBC, or Ports Authority, tell us,” said Evagorou, adding: “They say that’s not it. If not, then what is?”
AKEL political bureau member, Yiannakis Kolocassides rejected criticism that the president showed no respect to DIKO. “I am still trying to understand which principles have been violated to justify this reaction. Which canons of political ethics and how are they being violated by the president?” he asked.
