A few days before the opening, everything shows that the island is facing a historic and ambiguous confrontation. The poll findings confirm the retreat of the parties that .
Democratic Alarm (DISY), AKEL, Democratic Party (DIKO) and EDEK do not collectively exceed 45% in the latest measurements, while new formations, from a different side of the political spectrum, claim their entry into the Parliament.
The professor of Political Science at the University of Nicosia, Yannos Katsouridis, talks to Vima about the upcoming Cypriot elections and maps the new political map of the island.
Yannos Katsouridis/Source: ENA institute
How is the retreat of traditional parties in favor of new formations interpreted?
This is not a surprise, mistrust and resentment towards the traditional political parties has been gathering in the substratum of society for years. Behaviors and practices of parties and governments that the citizens disapproved of gradually accumulated and the first warning to the political system was in 2021, when the percentages of the three strongest parties (DISY., AKEL, DI.KO.) fell significantly and at the same time a double-digit percentage of parties that remained outside the Parliament was recorded.
The traditional parties in previous years have tried almost everything, claiming that they have gotten the message and will change course. People did not receive such a change. Now they seem to accept fragmentation and adopt a different strategy. DIS.SY. and DI.KO. they emphasize the institutional seriousness and functionality of the Parliament, while AKEL is milder in its criticism of the new parties – except ELAM – because they are its potential allies in the new Parliament. As for EDEK, another traditional party that at times enjoyed the role of regulator, claims to remain in the Parliament, with conditions of a restart and a second chance.
What exactly is the map of the new parties and where do they seek to draw votes from?
The “Jump” of the former Auditor General, Odysseus Michaelides, capitalizes on the issue of corruption, an issue that is high on the agenda, given that in recent years one corruption scandal follows another. Center-right voters appear to be his main vote pool in the measurements.
Phidias Panagiotou has adopted a different logic, which “fishes everywhere”. It defends the entry of new people into politics, it addresses the new generation and people outside politics, who have not participated in electoral processes so far and enter into a logic of participation on unconventional terms.
ELAM, which has far-right origins and has made its presence felt since 2016, is a marriage of tendencies, concerning on the one hand its hard stance on the immigration issue and on the other hand the turn of DISY. towards the center and the removal of the latter from the popular base of the Right.
As for Volt Cyprus, which claims to enter the Parliament with claims, it addresses conscious liberals from the Center-Right and Center-Left, it addresses young educated people of the middle income classes, who are positive towards the solution of the Cyprus issue.
Is Cyprus in its traditional sense receding as an electoral priority?
It doesn’t go away as an issue but it’s not the N1 anymore. Priority is given to the economy in its various dimensions, i.e. energy costs, consumer accuracy, inflation and everything related to the cost of living in general. The second issue is corruption and how to deal with it, the third is the Cyprus issue and the immigration issue has receded considerably compared to the previous elections.
As far as the Cyprus issue is concerned, I would note that the fatigue that began to appear since 2004 does not allow the Cypriot voter to prioritize it so highly on a consistent basis. It reappears as an important issue occasionally and on occasion, without having ceased to be important since it constitutes an existential issue for the Republic of Cyprus.
