In an attempt to show he was a magnanimous winner committed to building unity, after his re-election President Anastasiades announced he would go through the election manifestos of his rival candidates and adopt their policy proposals that he thought would be good for the country. It was an example of the superficial gesture politics he excels at and a way of thanking the two candidates that avoided backing his rival in the run-off.
First, he invited the leader of the Citizens’ Alliance Giorgos Lillikas to the presidential palace and after the meeting it was reported that among other things the president would adopt the proposal for subsidised heating fuel for residents of mountain villages. Three weeks ago, the independent, Akel-backed candidate Stavros Malas left his self-imposed political exile for a day to meet Anastasiades and exchange views about his proposal for regulating industrial relations (it was in his election manifesto) as well as explaining his ideas for investing in research and innovation.
The theatre with Lillikas and Malas was merely the warm-up act, preparing the setting for bringing Diko leader Nikolas Papadopoulos into the fold. On Wednesday Papadopoulos forgot his vitriolic attacks on Anastasiades during the campaign and stepped into the presidential office ostensibly to discuss the progressive policy proposals of his election manifesto. Not surprisingly the proposals the president agreed to implement were the type all our politicians embrace and consisted of spending the taxpayer’s money on supposedly worthy causes. Increasing state spending is the only economic policy that our political leaders understand and support unquestioningly.
Now that Anastasiades has become an undisguised hardliner opposed to bizonal, bicommunal federation he has no real political differences with Papadopoulos and Wednesday’s meeting was an indication that the Diko leader agreed an informal (perhaps loose) alliance with the president and Disy. Diko participated in the 2013 Anastasiades government for its first year in office…
