Anastasiades – “Democratic Rally” administration: One year of going back on commitments made – by Stefanos Stefanou, Member of the Political Bureau of AKEL

 Article “HARAVGI” newspaper, Sunday 3rd March 2014

One year in government is enough to provide sufficient samples of its work and practice. The characteristics of the administration are numerous. What stands out is the ease with which the President and his administration are going back on the clear commitments he made during the election campaign.
There are quite a few examples. We’ll just point out some of the important commitments that were made.
Commitment 1: “I pledge before the Cypriot people and foreign investors … that Nicos Anastasiades will not sign any Memorandum that will contain any provision for the haircut on deposits” (Anastasiades statement 12/2/2013).
(Un) commitment 1: On 15th March, Mr. Anastasiades reached an agreement with the Troika for the haircut on deposits, although he stated in the “Financial Times” on 2/25/2013 that “it would be catastrophic for Cyprus”. That is to say, Mr. Anastasiades did not simply go back on his commitment but signed something which he knew was catastrophic. Since then the government and ruling forces declare that the President was forced to sign the haircut not to bankrupt Cyprus. Cyprus did not go bankrupt; it has simply been destroyed…
Commitment 2: “(To meet Cyprus’ immediate needs) we will make an effort, either through a temporary loan from a foreign country or a long-term loan, possibly not a high loan” (Anastasiades speech at “Lyons” association, Limassol, 23/1/2013).
With this statement, the current President of the Republic began the empty tirade of statements – which was willingly reproduced by the Mass Media friendly to the President – about supposedly securing not one but two bridging loans that would cover Cyprus’ immediate needs.
(Un) commitment 2: No one has ever seen the much vaunted bridging loans. And by a…strange coincidence all those who led the efforts during the election campaign to advertise them, have never looked for them since.
Commitment 3: “We are categorically against the privatization of the profitable Semi-state organisations (Cyprus Telecommunications Authority CYTA, Cyprus Electricity Authority EAC and the Ports Authority)…” (personal written letter sent by Anastasiades to all the employees of Semi-state organizations).
(Un) commitment 3: Whilst before the election Anastasiades pledged that he was emphatically against privatizations, after the elections he began making statements about the need for a restructuring of the Semi-state organisations through privatizations.
“Let us leave ideologies aside,” stated Averof Neophytou, President of the “Democratic Rally party, on 7th January 2014, to subsequently declare that privatizations are a necessary modernization measure. This is the Democratic Rally party’s real position. However, during the pre-election campaign they were not telling the truth to the people.
Commitment 4: “We will make every effort to find other sources of funding the public debt… to prevent the activation of the provision for privatizations” (Anastasiades letter to the employees of the Semi-state organizations).
(Un) commitment 4: The President vowing to find alternative ways to avoid privatizations instead of utilising the possibilities offered by the previous memorandum changed it to make it totally specific and binding.
To back this, we cite the provisions of the two Memoranda with regards the contentious issue: “If necessary to restore debt sustainability, the Cyprus authorities will consider a privatisation programme for state-owned and semi-public companies” (previous Memorandum). “The Cypriot authorities will initiate a privatisation plan….including, inter alia, Cyprus Telecommunications Authority CYTA, Cyprus Electricity Authority EAC and the Ports Authority…”
(Anastasiades Memorandum). The difference is visible and no one can hide it.
Commitment 5: “There’s no way we will bring measures against the people and their interests Instead, we will see which points of the Memorandum can be the subject of renegotiation and we will assert them” (Anastasiades 4/2/2013 , Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation).
(Un) commitment 5: In the 2014 state budget, the government proposed and succeeded, with the votes of the Democratic Rally party, Democratic Party and the European Party, in approving cuts to welfare benefits amounting to 127 million Euros, which is why it subsequently tried to curb the social pension. One detail should be noted: the provision of the Memorandum foresees for 2014 a reduction of social benefits by 28 million Euros. The government increased the cuts…by only 99 million Euros…
The President’s continuous going back on his commitments does not just remind us of his public admission that after the haircut/levy on deposits he has become untrustworthy. They also remind us of Abraham Lincoln’s quote who said that, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
The people now understand that the government and ruling forces have usurped their vote with their false commitments and no longer trust them.