HOPE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING, “BUT HOPE IS NO LONGER ENOUGH!”
On 20 October, a Greek Cypriot friend of mine called me, full of joy, as soon as he returned from visiting the north of the island: “People are smiling…”
Of course… Hope is a beautiful thing, a joyful thing…
An intellectual who believed all hope was lost and had withdrawn from public life also called: “Now is the time to do something.”
Foreign diplomats and members of the press who had long since lost interest in the Cyprus Problem are now constantly asking what might happen.
In short, winds of change are blowing…
Undoubtedly, this is a hopeful atmosphere created by Tufan Erhürman winning the election on 19 October with nearly 63% of the vote, exceeding all expectations.
Erhürman, and the political parties alongside civil society organisations that support him have achieved a great success and created hope for the resumption of the Cyprus talks, which have been frozen for eight years.
As is well known, hopes had been dashed and expectations had diminished after the failure of the Cyprus Conference held in Crans Montana in 2017.
Turkey was moving away from the federal state formula and advocating a two-state solution model, while the Greek Cypriot side was hiding behind this and playing the blame game.
Ultimately, the two-state solution model was not accepted by anyone, and the status quo continued without testing the Greek Cypriots’ will to find a solution.
Along with the status quo, Turkish Cypriots continued to live isolated from the world and fell into deep despair.
On the other hand, within this deadlocked status quo, Turkey continued to interfere with the way of life of Turkish Cypriots. This situation led to an uprising among Turkish Cypriots, who are a secular society. Thousands of people took to the streets in protest.
The determination of Turkish Cypriots to assert their own identity and to continue to exist as an ethno-political society in Cyprus, distinct from Turkey, was reflected in the 19 October elections.
Undoubtedly, other factors also played a role.
For example, the failure of the coalition government formed by right-wing parties supporting Ersin Tatar, the turmoil in society caused by various scandals and corruption, drew voters closer to opposition parties and Tufan Erhürman.Divisions within right-wing parties also benefited Erhürman. The solidarity of the left was also important.
All this, combined with Erhürman’s charismatic personality, gave rise to new hope.
The hope originates from the Turkish Cypriot community, which has shown the will to make a new beginning.
And the excitement created by change is more important than the change itself!
The Dialectic of Hope and Will
Hope is a joyful thing, a beautiful thing…
But when it is not nourished by will, it remains an empty dream.
For example, when a father says to his child, “I hope you will study harder next year,” and the response is, “I hope so, too,” we cannot speak of hope here.
Hope without willpower cannot go beyond wishful thinking!
We do not hope for things that happen naturally. For example, no one says, “I hope tomorrow morning comes!”
Furthermore, we do not hope for things that can be easily obtained.
Desire is not hope. We can desire the impossible, but we can only hope for what is possible.
Therefore, we must turn to what is possible, not what we desire.
However, hope does not automatically transport people to the future they hope for!
This is where the subject promising transformation is tested. Calculating what is possible well and turning towards the goal by demonstrating a will accompanied by words and actions!
This is one of the fundamental conditions for success.
Leaders Who Grew Up After 1974
We are facing a new situation in the political life of Cyprus. Now we have two politicians from the new generation before us: Tufan Erhürman and Nikos Christodoulidis!
Erhürman belongs to a different generation than Mehmet Ali Talat and Mustafa Akıncı. Talat and Akıncı were born and raised in Cyprus before 1974 and had contacts with Greek Cypriots. Erhürman, on the other hand, was born in Nicosia in 1970 and grew up in the north of the island.
Nikos Christodoulidis, unlike Christofias or Anastasiadis, is a child of a divided Cyprus. He was born in the village of Geroskipou in Paphos at the end of 1973, and grew up without ever seeing a Turkish Cypriot.
Both need to get to know the ‘other’ community better. It is extremely important that they do not use an otherizing language.
Most importantly, they must demonstrate their commitment to the federal state model, which is referred to as the only viable common option for our country.
Our role in this new process is to support the leaders and help them succeed.
Their role is to avoid getting caught up in the blame game!
Since we are talking about hope, let us also note that hope is like love: it is a beautiful thing as long as it lasts!
However, the people of Cyprus, who have experienced disappointment time and again, may not say it poetically, but deep down they murmur words similar to those of the poet:
“But hope is no longer enough for me; I no longer want to listen to songs, I want to sing…”
[Editor’s note: a line from Nazım Hikmet Ran’s poem, Thinking of You (Seni Düşünmek)]
This article was originally published on 26.10.2025