By This post is also available in: ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
The mere thought that, come autumn, we will enter an early pre-election period which, despite fluctuations, will drag on until 2028, is truly nightmarish.
The realisation of what this two-year period will look like is far worse.
The seedlings of populism, the newfound and established sirens of conspiracy theorists—led by the only individual in a democratic country who was removed with chilling documentation by the nation’s Supreme Court and transformed over a single Saturday evening, unfortunately quite unpleasant for our future, into a folk hero and Robin Hood of madmen—are certainly the fruit of our times.
Just as this phenomenon addresses an audience globally, in our country it has a not insignificant following. If it provides any comfort—though you likely haven’t failed to notice, and I don’t think you have—this exists in serious countries too, though this hardly helps us beyond mere consolation. This audience is significant yet infinitely smaller than the space it occupies in the public sphere through its loud presence. Space that has been and continues to be ceded by what I consider the most problematic citizens: those who remain silent.
Let me clarify: if someone consciously says, “I don’t care,” and accepts whatever befalls them without protest, that’s fair enough. However, I, and I assume you too, have never encountered a single such person to date. We claim not to care, yet we’re the first to complain.
I know many who couldn’t be bothered to vote and are perpetually cursing about what stupid people we are—I agree, indeed I think we’re far stupider than we believe, though we always consider ourselves personally to be the clever ones. If we’re discussing recent times, these same individuals constantly howl about the “70 thousand”—71,333 to be precise—who voted for Fidias. We’ve found the problem. Not that it isn’t one, of course.
I haven’t heard anyone, whether from this group or others, even whisper that another 281,156 voters, representing 41.14% (!), didn’t even show up, whilst 25,371—that is, 6.31%—went and cast blank votes. We’re talking about 306,527 people (47.45% of the electorate), with valid votes (that were counted) totalling 368,455.
“Protest” (sic). Got up, went, and put it there. In a kind of disregard.
This represents a form of elitism of limited intellect or problematic personality, sometimes with characteristics of narcissistic disorder. Hence, these two types are usually the most vocal post-election, aren’t they?
You needn’t even ask them. They tell you themselves!
“Did you see the results?”
“Oh, I didn’t go!” / “Oh, I cast a blank vote!”
The worst thing you can do to them is not ask why. They’ll continue the conversation to tell you “none of them represents me” and so forth. Again, the issue is that their brilliant mind isn’t represented by anyone. It’s not about the candidate—it’s about them.
And you don’t want to be ill-characterised for the fifth time on the same day by telling them something like: “Get a grip, my dear. Firstly, you’re voting for the Cypriot Parliament, for (our) six MEPs, etc. You’re not on the committee judging this year’s Nobel Prize. Secondly, if it were for the Nobel, it wouldn’t be you. Good grief…”
When half the electorate doesn’t show up, the votes of the idiots, conspiracy theorists, clowns, and clientele I mentioned above are multiplied. Think from your own experience: friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbours who belong to these categories of the “mentally challenged”, as the English language so wonderfully describes them. Have any of them told you they didn’t vote?
There you go!
Even greater is the problem of the parties themselves, which refuse to understand that most have run their course and must either change and evolve—I mean seriously, not like AKEL, which painted their building and instead of giving members lists of whom to vote for in party bodies simply tells them—or be swept away by the tide.
The problem is that their concern isn’t producing serious politics, but collecting the massive leakage by doing what? Mimicking the clowns and putting in their shop windows whatever they have of this type in their party ranks.
A friend told me the other day when I was explaining this: “Why would they do that? What did Christodoulides get out of it? He tells them we did this and that and has 44% approval!”. I replied that what escapes him is that firstly, serious people don’t make much noise but simply observe, and secondly, that a politician without a party reaching 44% positive/very positive opinion rather shows the opposite.
In short, Mr/Mrs Party Member, you don’t want to bring back the idiots. You want to, OK, but it can’t be. The challenge is to bring back to the ballot box the sensible ones with inflated egos, or those who think they’re sensible but aren’t completely lost causes who want you to coax them, to tell them “Oh, but of course we absolutely agree,” “Indeed, I hadn’t thought of that!” and various such things.
Cypriots don’t want to see you crying. They want to see you standing firm, having a backbone and—then—giving them importance too. Yours forever.
Instead of fighting others in the party, engage in self-criticism and remind them how dangerous the clowns are, however they’re packaged. But dismissively and aggressively. You’re meant to take the country forward. You’re a Dream Team. Those… Yes.
You won’t win them over by making Diplaros—sorry, Eftychis—vice president or sending Eleni Stavrou Syrou to the European Parliament, for instance. Europe has many of them. What do you think? That you are going to scare them?
As long as the picture remains as such, there’s no salvation. And our troubles are still ahead of us!
PS: In a country that cries out against corruption, shouldn’t pollsters who have professional interests or are even employed by politicians be required to declare this? Just saying…
This article was first published on 18.07.2025
Source: SEASONAL FRUITS
