Greens target government in party congress

THE Green Party on Sunday held their annual congress, where their policies for next year’s general election were discussed.

At the congress, Party leader George Perdikis criticised the government, saying, “the Green Party has stood by President Papadopoulos and by the government in their vision for political and social change.

“However, we have expressed our dislike for how the Cyprus problem is being handled by the political authorities. The change that the fatigued citizen has been waiting for has not come. The sky has not cleared up and the grey has not disappeared. The promise that was made has not been fulfilled. Many Cypriots say we should wait and that the government’s plan is a long-term one. But in the meantime, government officials are riding around in limousines while the rest of us travel by bicycle.”

He added that the Green Party is “all for clear solutions and suggestions and will fight for real change.”

AKEL leader and House President Dimitris Christofias responded to Perdikis’ claims by saying that, “some people are looking at things through a grey lens rather than a green one.”

Others have pointed out that since they are being so critical of the government, perhaps the Greens should leave the coalition.

The Greens also said they would be focusing on their ideas for a clean political environment, where there is no corruption and said they believed in a strong economy.

On environmental issues, Perdikis explained that, “we will be focusing on sustainable development and how to put this into practise. We also believe in social education and must listen and educate the youth of today.

“Our aim is to secure our presence in parliament and to make it stronger. Currently, we only have one MP in parliament, myself. We would consider a three per cent share of the vote as a victory.”

He concluded by saying that the Party had a problem in getting young people to vote for them. “We need to address this and put a plan in motion.”