Clearance of Turkish minefields begins - cyp mail article

[brother]

[cannedmoose]

[erolz]

[brother]

[Saint Jimmy]

[cannedmoose]

[Bananiot]

He has genes for longevity, brother. He has done quite well fighting the big C (apparently it is prostate cancer) and as you know we inherit our genes from our parents. Everybody seems to think that people with cancer are doomed. This is not so. There are many people who walk among us that have beaten cancer.

As far as Anastasides is concerned, he does not need to stand down as leader of DISI. He can put his weight behind another candidate from the party but ideally it needs to be someone who can get votes of people from AKEL in order to stand a chance. AKEL still claims that it will never form an alliance with DISI and this is exactly what Papadopoulos is exploiting, the stupid fixation of Christofias, who has elevated the most chauvinist elements of our society to power, that an alliance with DISI will see the downfall of AKEL. There is a historical background for this fixation. In 1985 AKEL, in unison with DISI, tried to bring down Kyprianou but not only did they fail to do so but got a slap in the face in the parliamentary elections, polling a mere 27% of the vote while DIKO climbed above them into second place. The analysts of AKEL came with the explanation that the drop was due to the party seen to form an alliance with DISI ...

[cannedmoose]

Interesting bananiot... in your opinion is there any member of DHSY who could be embraced by AKEL supporters, yet at the same time retain the support of the more nationalist wing of DHSY?

[Bananiot]

There is a young and upcoming person in DISI whom I like a lot. His name is Mitsopoulos and he is the party press officer. He is not even an MP yet but he is bound to get elected in May, however, his age means that he does not inspire much confidence at the moment in a society accustomed to oldies. He is a charismatic politician and a pragmatist who has worked for a while in Brussels and has the aura of a European politician.

A more realistic scenario perhaps is for AKEL to break away from Papadopoulos and agree with DISI for a mutually accepted person, even from the ranks of AKEL, with a clear mandate for a solution. This will be ideal for me. The May elections are extremely important. If AKEL loses votes and DIKO gains as mush as the polls say, then AKEL will have to do some serious thinking. Also, hopefully, the "yes" platform will be regenerated and it could provide an alternative for those disenchanted AKEL voters who lost faith in the party. This may eventually bring Christofias to his senses, if he has any left. It also appears that we are moving for a power struggle in AKEL in view of its forthcoming Congress (November).

[erolz]

[Saint Jimmy]

Bananiot, what you say does make sense, but would you dismiss Kasoulides as a potential candidate? Whate moose is saying (him being away from the foreground) is true, but I don't see anyone else emerging from within the DISY ranks as presidential material in the near future.

As for Mitsopoulos, I'd say he's waaaay too young; plus, he has no 'medals' to show - big minus...

[Bananiot]

What I was trying to say is that a candidate from DISI must be supported by AKEL in order to be elected. At the moment, this is an unlikely scenario and I prefer to wait until the Parliamentary elections in May to see if the results bring any change in the stance of AKEL. This can happen only if AKEL loses a few points and DIKO gains a few points. This will send shivers down the spine of Christofias whom the party mouthpiece "Haravgi" has been describing as the "politician of the future" that is, the next President.

Papadopoulos, it seems, is trying to consolidate his base of support and elevate it to hights where AKEL will not be needed for the next Presidential elections. There is no doubt he has promised to hand the batton to Christofias (rather, this was their agreement when they forged their alliance some 3.5 years ago) but the actions of Papadopoulos since the referendum point to a changed attitude which infuriates Christofias, but again, it seems that Papadopoulos has also eroded the leadership and the base of AKEL, and we are in for a very interesting power struggle with Christofias and Katsourides exhanging blows, albeit at the moment behind closed doors.

I think AKEL will come out worse off at the end, unless Christofias becomes the next President because this in itself will justify to its faithful the game it played. Will Papadopoulos allow this? No way, I say, but Christofias should have known this before entering into an unholly alliance with the most reactionary forces in Cyprus.

[brother]

Well all good and well what you are saying Bananiot but please tell me that tassos will be defeated, i can't bear another 4 years of Mr No.

[Bananiot]

I wish I could brother, I wish I could. In life nothing is certain, we must however have faith that decency will eventually prevail and Cyprus can become a happy place for all of us.