Speech by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou at the event “Our eye on the future”

 

Wednesday 28 June 2023, New Nicosia Town Hall

Dear friends,

First of all, I would like to thank both Andreas Mavroyiannis and each and every one of you individually for your presence here today.

I’ll start with this because in my own perception nothing is self-evident. We may be bound together by the electoral battle we waged together – which will always be a milestone in our relationship – but from the day after onwards, each of us could well have gone our own way. After all, we have seen this happen repeatedly in the past, confirming the axiom that in politics there are neither self-evident, nor any certainties.

But we are here today, with our eyes and ears open to the new challenge emerging on the horizon. The challenge of answering the question of whether people from different backgrounds, but who have found themselves on the same side of history, can formulate a common political proposal with a progressive content.

Our assessment is that our political diversity can act as a driving force and not as a hindrance as we are convinced that what unites us transcends whatever differences we may have.

Dear friends,

Politics is a vast landscape dotted with high mountains and deep ravines. The interest lies in the angle that each person chooses to view this landscape. That is, our view of the world.

This view unites us. This common view gives us the right to hope that by joining forces we will create a broad progressive front.

In the last presidential election, against all the predictions, we managed to come close to what certain forces and people had been saying for months was unthinkable: to win the election. The task today, of course, is not to rue the opportunities missed in the past, but to also learn from the experience and use it to win the challenge with the future.

What have we learned from the recent electoral experience? At least in brief, let me list the main lessons that have emerged from it:

• A large section of society – about half of the electorate – is looking for an alternative proposal to assert power, based on rationality and realism governed by principles.
• It is looking for a credible proposal that puts forward a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework and the cultivation of relations of trust with the Turkish Cypriot community.
• It wants our country to be a credible partner in the EU, to have a voice and a role. A country with its international standing restored.
• It wants a state built on the principles of transparency, social justice, meritocracy and accountability.
• A state governed by the rule of law that will strike at the root of the phenomena of entanglement/interwoven interests and corruption, with policies that serve the people’s interests.
• A democratic state that invests in stable and sustainable development with respect for the environment.
• A modern state that is tolerant of diversity and actively safeguards collective and individual human rights.

These basic principles were included in the programme of the presidential candidate AKEL supported, Andreas Mavroyiannis, in order to achieve progressive change in the country. The elections are now a thing of the past, but the demand of the great social current that was created remains alive: for a different course. For another political culture. For a different Cyprus.

This is the demand we are called upon to handle today. Hence today’s call. AKEL’s initiative is addressed to those who believe in progressive change to join us in the ambitious project of creating a strong Social Alliance.

Dear friends,

Although my political career is not characterised by personal references, let me make an exception at this point. Two years ago, when my Party’s Congress elected me to the honorary post of General Secretary, in that first speech I said the following: “If we really want to change the reality in which we live and about which we are not at all satisfied, not only we but also the overwhelming majority of our people, we must first of all change ourselves. Not to annul our ideological and political identity, but to listen to the demands and challenges of the new era by investing in what we have been for almost a century.”

I stand on this reference to highlight the fact that the need for change, in relation to AKEL and social alliances, is not belated. It is a necessity that is emerging as a demand of our times, but it is also consistent with the political character and culture of AKEL throughout its long historical course.

Anyone who wants to understand what is the political DNA of AKEL and what our Party’s identity is should go back decades earlier, to the starting point of its foundation. Even then, AKEL was defining itself as a broad party of the Left, a popular party of the working people, whose reference point is our country and people. By doing so, it managed to gain considerable momentum, much more than its party base. This put AKEL at the forefront of the major strike struggles, winning the pro-people’s bet. This is how AKEL found itself at the forefront of the national struggles for the right to self-determination.

On the basis of this political philosophy, AKEL entered into alliances with figures even from the right which resulted in great victories in local government elections in the 1940’s and the first half of the 1950’s. In the decades that followed, our Party engaged in political struggle without getting bogged down in endless theoretical analyses but, primarily centred on the needs and stakes of the time as its compass, focused on political action. This is how the open character of the Party towards society developed. Thus it became a mass Party and gained prestige and recognition among the people.

This fact, which is not the only one in history, has proved in practice that the ideology of the Party, Marxism, not only does not constitute an obstacle to a working class party to be open to society, but, on the contrary, it imposes it. A Party without a strong social base cannot win people’s hearts and minds and cannot leave its imprint on political and social life. It cannot be at the centre of developments and influence them.

Dear friends,

Looking back to the past attains a meaning in today’s conditions to understand that the formation of the Social Alliance is not a new political practice on the part of AKEL. Our electoral history is a history of forging alliances and cooperation with forces from the broader Left and beyond.

A milestone in this path was the creation of the New Forces in the early 1990’s. A successful custom that elected important parliamentary figures. It is on the basis of this experience that our new effort is based on, as we see that the institution of the New Forces, as we have known it up to now, is coming full circle and the conditions have now matured for broadening the front of progressive forces. Whether they are individual personalities with particular political weight, or social movements, groups or collectives that are natural interlocutors for AKEL.

The aim, therefore, is for all these heterogeneous forces to come together on the basis of a progressive agenda. The basis, in our assessment, exists. It is the election programme of the independent presidential candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis, which was the result of a political fermentation between AKEL and forces beyond the spectrum of the Left. This programme can constitute the basis on which the concerns and worries of people with different ideological backgrounds but with common political goals can find a resonance. It is our conviction that the demand for change permeates society horizontally, transcends ideological boundaries and embraces broader groups from different political and party spectrums.

Dear friends,

The decision to turn towards society had as a precondition firstly to look honestly at ourselves. After exhaustively analysing what I mentioned earlier, we concluded that our message must be clear and straightforward:

“AKEL – An eye to the future”

Because the future is where the challenges are to take our country one step higher, as Andreas Mavroyiannis used to say.

Because the lives of our children will be judged in the future and the dreams of future generations will be vindicated.

Because the future is shaped by proposals and demands and not only through our reaction and rejection.

Unfortunately, we are at ground zero, and the situation on the Cyprus problem is desperate. It is the longest stalemate we have ever experienced, with time undermining the hopes for a solution. This is not the time to apportion responsibilities. The fact is, however, that President Anastasiades’ erroneous handlings of the situation has made the Greek Cypriot side, according to the United Nations, equally responsible for the deadlock noted.

However, that belongs to the past. Today reminds us, in the most dramatic way possible, that Turkey remains intransigent, imposing new occupation fait accompli without suffering any real political cost. Stagnation on the Cyprus problem fuels partition, which is precisely why we must move forward with specific and targeted initiatives.

As AKEL we have submitted our proposal to the new President of the Republic to create momentum for the resumption of negotiations and the formulation of a positive agenda. All that the President states about a more active involvement of the European Union through the appointment of a special envoy is not enough to create new momentum. We insist on our proposal for consistency to the convergences recorded so far that have brought us very close to the conclusion of a strategic agreement, as well as on the exploitation of the energy facts in our region, a proposal that is becoming more topical in view of the energy crisis that is raging nowadays.

Despite the realistic difficulties in the handling of the Cyprus problem, we must continue the effort and always look to the future because the future of our country and people is being undermined every day by the de facto partition of our homeland.

We look to the future by submitting proposals for the economy, on the basis of a developmental model that will ensure stability and support entrepreneurship, but at the same time will be characterised by a strong social dimension and will have people and their needs at the centre of its attention.

We are taking parliamentary initiatives and mobilising actions to give practical content to concepts such as the welfare state, sustainable development, equal opportunities and the right to diversity.

It is with an eye to the future that we have attempted today’s call to forge a Social Alliance that will give political content to the goal of progressive change.

Today’s gathering is one of the important landmarks on the roadmap we have drawn until our Statutory Congress in November.

It was preceded by gatherings across Cyprus, where we had the opportunity to hear views and develop a fruitful and productive dialogue with individuals from a wider audience.

We conducted thematic campaigns putting forward specific proposals on topical issues that plague important groups of the population. We started with the housing issue and admittedly we noted that we shook things up by pointing out the absence of a comprehensive state housing policy.

Other thematic actions will follow, such as the campaign for young couples, the Workshop on the Economy or the Forum that we will organise on Development and the position of Cyprus in the European Union and, more generally, in the international arena.

Looking to the future, events will be organised to honor emblematic personalities of local government and the Left, including Adam Adamantos and Ploutis Servas, as we can also draw from the past messages of unity on the basis of a specific political programme that has yielded excellent results for society and, in particular, for all those who need support and care in order to be able to survive.

Looking to the future, the Statutory Congress of AKEL will also be held with the objectives of renewal, modernisation, deepening inter-party democracy and enhancing the effectiveness of the Party’s intervention in public life.

Dear friends,

The bottom line of all this effort is to build on the momentum created by the candidacy of Andreas Mavroyiannis, aiming to formulate a credible alternative proposal. The creation of the Social Alliance is a key pillar of this endeavour, so it is logical to ask: on what basis will it operate?

The first thing I have to make clear is that we do not have in mind prefabricated solutions. Through the dialogue that has already begun, we are synthesising views and formulating the model for the functioning of this new structure.

What is certain is that two basic elements are demanded: the political basis on which the Social Alliance will be based and the organisational constitution of the forces that want it. All those who are here today, that is to say, and many others who are not present at today’s event.

I mentioned the political agenda earlier on. It is the programme on which we have based our electoral campaign effort. Different people, with different priorities, different political, ideological or party backgrounds, but with a common vision of the path our country must take.

In terms of organisational structure, our aim is to create a structure that will ensure inclusiveness in policy formulation and effectiveness in political action. It will be a political platform which will not demand membership of AKEL. It will allow for dialogue and fermentation through the formulation of proposals, interventions and participation in joint actions.

Our intention is to harness the expertise of renowned personalities and to draw on the political wisdom of the many on the basis of a sincere relationship based on mutual respect and mutual appreciation.

I mentioned earlier that we do not have ready-made solutions. We know that the task is not a simple one, but here is a glorious field to exchange views and find the most effective formula for cooperation.

Dear friends,

To those who remain suspicious about the motives or the outcome of this endeavour, I answer directly and without mincing my words: This effort is not being launched in a political vacuum. There is a specific horizon: the double election to be held in 2024 and the next parliamentary elections, where AKEL’s interaction with individual personalities or organised groups will be measured on the ground.

Our intention is to build a Social Alliance that has both a role and a voice.

Today marks the starting point of this effort.

I am optimistic that with an eye to the future we will succeed.

We will succeed not only because the need is there, but also because we have the will!

Thank you again for being here and I hope this is the beginning of a common path for the good of our country. For the good of its people. Of our people.