Our View: What good can the Greeks do at this late stage?

POLITICAL parties across the spectrum welcomed Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s decision to attend a National Council meeting discussing our side’s next moves on the Cyprus problem. Parties also welcomed the decision to set up a team of legal experts at the Greek foreign ministry to offer President Christofias advice about the talks.
While both decisions, on the surface, seem positive developments, we cannot ignore the fact that these moves are too late to have any impact on the peace process. Christofias has been talking to Mehmet Ali Talat for 17 months and only now – with just three meetings left before the three-month recess – has it dawned on him that he could do with some help from legal experts. Until last weekend, he had been ignoring calls for the establishment of a team of experts that would give him advice, relying exclusively on one man – AKEL’s Cyprus problem expert Toumazos Tselepis.
He attended more than 60 meetings without needing assistance and this round of intensive talks will come to a conclusion before the Greek foreign ministry team has been put together. He adopted a similar approach to the idea of closer co-operation with Papandreou, who was elected at the beginning of October. It took Christofias three months to decide there should be a joint strategy with the Greek government.
But the fact that this co-operation would take place, not between governments but within the framework of the talking shop that is the National Council is an indication of how little faith Christofias has in the process. No meaningful decisions can be taken at the National Council, a forum for political grandstanding by hardliners who are opposed to the peace process. Of course, the proceedings could become even more farcical if the EVROKO leader’s suggestion for a meeting that attended by all Greece’s party leaders, is taken on board.
The president, quite clearly, does not see the need in forging a joint strategy with the Greek government on the Cyprus problem, but recognises that there is political capital to be made from what would be perceived by the public as closer co-operation. It would also allow him to share the responsibility with Papandreou if things begin to go wrong and the Turks go on the diplomatic offensive. This is why he agreed to the establishment of a team of experts at the Greek foreign ministry and to a National Council meeting attended by Papandreou, at this late stage.
It is a shame that Christofias is using up so much of his time on petty political manoeuvring, aimed at winning over the public, instead of using his time to pursue more constructive and meaningful endeavours.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.