While most political parties put a positive spin on the European Parliament Election results, Cypriot voters, essentially, turned their backs on what was a milestone for the future of the European Union.
Just 44.9% of some 641,000 Cyprus voters turned up to cast their preference in an election which determined the composition of a European Parliament.
While closer integration of the European Union is at stake, with Brexit and the rise of the far-right, the majority of Cypriots sent a message of indifference.
Analysts and former MEPs argue that parties did not put in the effort to bring Cypriots closer to Europe, criticising them for playing the usual Cypriot cards, rather than focusing on issues discussed at an EU level which in turn affect the future of their country.
Former MEP and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulides finds that Cypriot political parties got carried away and as usual, concentrated on purely local issues such as the Cyprus problem.
“We failed to link issues discussed in the European Union with what is happening on the ground in Cyprus. In doing so, we also failed to convince the voters to take an interest in EU matters,” said Kasoulides.
He added that the parties have also failed to convince the media that EU matters are also of interest to Cypriots.
The European Parliament is key to forming policies and EU directives which shape the future of all EU member states and those directives need to obtain approval from the EP.
“The parties will have to reevaluate their policies and tactics and find a way to put forward a hopeful vision within the European Union,” said Kasoulides.
He said the media need to start also paying attention to what goes on in the European Parliament if Cypriots are to get a clear picture of the importance of procedures taking place there.
“Unfortunately, Cyprus media cover proceedings of the European Parliament only when there is a motion put forward by a Cypriot MEP regarding Turkey.
This is something that I have witnessed myself. Putting forward notions regarding Turkey and the Cyprus problem is only part of what Cypriot MEPs do in the European Parliament.”
No women
Former Foreign Affairs Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis was also disappointed in the party pre-election campaigns.
“Following the campaigns, I found that 90% of the debates and arguments put forward had nothing to do with issues related to the Union or the European Parliament.”
She said that the majority of arguments put forward aimed rather at creating polarization amongst voters rather than getting them interested and involved in procedures that directly affect their future.
“That is one of the reasons why a large portion of Cypriot voters abstained from the elections.”
She said politicians and the media should work towards familiarizing people with issues and discussions taking place within the European Parliament.
“An informed citizen is more likely to be an active citizen.”
Marcoullis noted that there was one more dark spot on the elections, as Cyprus was the only EU state that failed to elect a woman MEP.
She sees the result is a big setback, as the first woman to be appointed on a cabinet was Justice Minister Stella Soulioti in 1975 by then President Makarios.
“It goes to show that we have been in a deep sleep, not following changes which have been taking place in the EU countries the past decades, failing to break with the patriarchic societal rules.”
Marcoullis said the state and the parties must take the biggest share of the blame.
“The parties fail in every election to put forward gender-balanced tickets, while the state fails to introduce measures for gender equality.”
She believes the state should promote gender equality with lessons at school, while parliament should introduce a legal quota for equal gender representation in elections and the in key administration positions.
“Such legislation will have no chance of getting through parliament as some parties do not want to hear about such measures.”
Marcoullis explained that society needs to institutionalise gender equality if Cyprus is to move forward, adding that countries such as Sweden that introduced such measures have the highest representation of women in the Union.
She noted that these countries have now waived the gender quota as it has succeeded in building a culture of gender equality within their societies.
Clientelism
Andreas Panagiotou, professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Frederick University, said that the Euro Elections has never interested the Cypriot voter as much as general or presidential elections.
He told the Financial Mirror, the trend formulated over the past couple of decades has 70-80% of Cypriots going to the ballots for the Presidential elections and a 60% for parliamentary and local elections, while only a 40-odd per cent cast a vote in the Euro Elections.
“The biggest portion of Cypriot voters abstain from voting during the Euro Elections, simply because they do not feel close to the European Union and its procedures,” said Panagiotou.
However, he added, this time around the discontent shown towards the political system, especially the government and the ruling party DISY, played a role in the abstention rate.
“The scandals, the closure of the Co-op bank, the serial killer case have all increased discontent amongst voters, even the traditional right-wing supporters.”
“What made matters worse, was the way the government handled the issues, bringing more disappointment and discontent. A probe conducted into the downfall of the Co-op found the Finance Minister Harris Georgiades to be responsible… but he stays on until the end of the year.”
Panagiotou argued that people have lost faith in the political system and are disengaged from public matters.
“Whereas the right-wing party appeared to be the most trustworthy to rule the country in the past, now the government and the ruling party have lost the people’s trust,” said the Frederick University professor.
He said the government appears to be based on patron-client relations, while on the issue of the Cyprus problem it has confused and disappointed people.
On the one hand, it was elected on the promise of working towards a solution, and on the other hand, it would appear that it is doing everything it can to avoid entering a new round of negotiations.
“Furthermore, a proportion of liberal DISY voters found the way the party and its leadership reacted to the candidacy of a Turkish Cypriot academic, to be insulting towards the Turkish Cypriot community and endangering a future solution to the Cyprus problem,” said Panagiotou.
“A small percentage of them did vote for Niyazi Kizilyurek, but most of them abstained due to the lack of an alternative close to their political views,” he added.
