TAKE THE joke about 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the sea, substitute “politicians” for “lawyers” and you’ve pretty much summed up how Cypriots feel about the upcoming parliamentary elections.
And yet come May 22, many of these disenchanted souls will go to the polling station and vote for their party’s candidate. Why? Because, unless you vote for “our guy,” the “others” [insert AKEL, DISY, as appropriate] will win.
Do we deserve the politicians we get?
Commentators are forecasting record low turnouts for the 2011 vote, and TV viewer ratings of political shows seem to bear out the broad perception that folks are switching off.
A survey, commissioned by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation found for example that two-thirds are disinterested in politics in general, while a more than 70 per cent aren’t exactly excited about the upcoming elections.
Another poll revealed a growing disenchantment over the past decade with ‘institutions’: the state, the police, politicians, parliament, semi-governmental organisations. Only the Church survived the onslaught.
Several factors are at play, says Stavros Tombazos, professor of political science at the University of Cyprus:
“For one thing, the Cyprus problem doesn’t ‘sell’ like it used to. Right now, there seems tom be no light at the end of the tunnel, no solution or even developments in sight. So it’s normal that people aren’t as fired up as they used to be.
“Second, even when the Cyprus issue is debated on TV and radio, we’re hearing the same old things over and over. People are tired of the rehash. Personally, after watching just a few minutes of a debate, I give up and go for the remote.”
“And third,” concludes Tombazos, “there’s a sense that politicians are out of touch with reality. One thing that stands out is that the candidates haven’t really got into the economy, which is what’s on people’s minds right now.”
According to Tombazos, this election campaign is one of the most vacuous that he recalls.
“There’s no political message. It’s heavy on rhetoric, low on substance. You don’t hear proposals on how to tackle growing unemployment, for example. Should we cut back on working hours? Should we renegotiate collective agreements? What about the civil service payroll? Nothing concrete.”
Tombazos feels this is the most PR-oriented campaign to date. “Look at the billboards. Like the one with the candidate telling people to vote for him because ‘You know why’. Can you get any more vaguer than that?”
One hot issue that’s conspicuous by its absence is immigration. Tombazos thinks that’s because candidates have opted to play it safe, steering clear of controversy for fear of losing votes.
“No one’s taking a stand. That immediately tells me that this campaign is all about getting elected, not about the issues. Once you come out and take a position, you win some votes and lose some. Apparently the candidates aren’t willing to take that risk. So how do you expect the electorate to engage?”
Despite it all, Tombazos thinks that the turnout on May 22, although low, will not completely reflect the disappointment.
“Many of those who complain about politicians will still go out and vote for a candidate from the party they have traditionally supported. That’s because Cypriots still fall for the rationale that if you don’t vote for your candidate, the other guy from the other party will win. That’s enough to rally them.”
Costas Gouliamos, vice-rector of the European University Cyprus and professor of political communications, says voter apathy is a sign of a simmering social, rather than political, crisis.
He cites people’s growing preoccupation with lifestyle – what he calls conspicuous consumption – as a symptom of shifting values in Cypriot society over the last years.
“When all you care about is getting a flashy car and showing it off, then how much time do you have to reflect on public affairs?
“At the same time one gets the sense that the candidates themselves are posing as nouveaux riches, spending money as they are with reckless abandon.”
And he agrees that people think all politicians are the same. “There’s a feeling that politics is a closed system. From dusk till dawn, all you do is listen to MPs talk about everything under the sun, as if they are the end-all and be-all of knowledge. No wonder people are getting tired.”
The saturation of the airwaves by opinion polls isn’t helping either, says Gouliamos, who despite not having hard evidence believes Cyprus has set a European record in producing these surveys.
