No bridge over troubled waters: The Cypriot left in government, 2008-2013

Abstract

In 2008, leftists across Europe hailed the election of communist leader Dimitris Christofias to executive office in the Republic of Cyprus as a breakthrough, with grand prospects for progressive, leftward change. The Cypriot left in the form of AKEL seemed to be the exception in the neoliberal European political universe, offering a new hope and the potential for an alternative political course. AKEL's rise to executive power was seen as evidence that the left could head the government in a European state, and as an example for other left parties. Five years on, during a period in which Cyprus has signed a bailout agreement with the Troika comparable to those of Greece, the right has triumphantly returned to office, some of the harshest austerity measures have been imposed by EU elites and passed by parliament, and with public opinion on the left government's record unprecedentedly negative, the issue of communist participation in the executive is once again, rightfully back on the agenda.

Trade unions and politics in Cyprus: a historical comparative analysis across the dividing line

“…The fact the left happened to head the government at the time was of key significance in this (Charalambous & Ioannou 2015). Trade unions took a defensive stance and essentially restricted themselves to verbal protests while attempting to make their retreat as organised and as institutionalised as possible, signing interim agreements and securing written statements where possible that the cuts would be temporary and a product of agreement rather than an outright imposition (Ioannou 2014).…”

Unfrozen Conflicts: Civil Society and Social Movements in the Republic of Cyprus

“…During one of those, riotous groups broke off from the main body of protesters and headed towards the President's Palace where they were apprehended in a violent confrontation with the police. The events were pivotal not only because of their scale, but also because they formed a very potent anti-government, negative coalition that turned against the first (and so far only) Cypriot Communist President, Dimitris Christofias of AKEL (Charalambous and Ioannou 2015).…”

Populism or Nationalism? The ‘Paradoxical’ Non-Emergence of Populism in Cyprus

“…ELAM is stereotypically portrayed as 'populist' (Ioannou, 2015). As Charalambous puts it, 'the more explicit manifestations of contemporary populist politics in Cyprus that fit well within the wider European picture are to be found today on the far right of the political spectrum.…”

“…In June 2012, with a ‘junk status’ economy that could not meet the European Central Bank’s eligibility criteria for emergency liquidity, the AKEL government requested a bailout from the European Financial Stability Facility, effectively opening the doors to the Troika. Its popularity damaged, AKEL lost the 2013 elections to DISY (Charalambous, 2014; Charalambous and Ioannou, 2015; Katsourides, 2016). Under immense pressure, the newly elected Anastasiades, along with the Cypriot parliament, were forced to capitulate to the Eurogroup’s demands, leading the country into its own era of memoranda (Triga, 2017).…”

“…Most importantly, it criticised the government for the implementation of austerity measures, the privatisation of key industries, and so on. However, given the role AKEL played in the crisis, as well as its long history of coalition-building (with centrist and rightist parties) (Katsourides, 2016), its mobilising potential was rather low (Charalambous and Ioannou, 2015). Its attempts to invoke the popular classes through anti-austerity and anti-establishment rhetoric proved unconvincing, if not unsuccessful, in constructing affective identifications with ‘the people’.…”