Government’s policies reflect its ideological choices

 

Statement of George Loucaides, AKEL C.C. Spokesperson

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 5th October 2015, Nicosia

AKEL will avoid lowering the level of the discussion on such serious issues.

We have denounced the derisive manner and attitude which was again used with regards the Greek government, the Greek Prime Minister and mainly against the democratic choices made by the Greek people, when the talk centres on ties and Memoranda that certain forces would tear up. It is unheard of for political life in Cyprus what is currently happening, namely making references to a Greek Government, to a Greek Prime Minister, to the choices made by the Greek people in an attempt at self-vindication. Obviously all these were and are being made in an attempt to find a way at self-vindication; in an attempt to justify the deeds and actions of the government and ruling forces in Cyprus which have never asserted and unashamedly never resisted anything when confronting the Troika.

They explained to us that the reason why the government and ruling forces do not assert is that the Memorandum was their own ideological manifesto, which we should have implemented, whether the Troika was here or not.

Yesterday we again posed the question we are also posing today. Given that the Memorandum is their ideological manifesto why then are they celebrating for the exit from the Memorandum? Normally they should be regretting it, since they will abandon their ideological and political manifesto.

Of course, things are much simpler, despite the government’s attempts to mislead citizens. The Memorandum will officially expire as foreseen in the program in March 2016, but the Memoranda policies will continue unabated and that is the intention of the government and ruling forces which in fact they proclaim publicly too. Consequently, what will happen is that our people, the workers, unemployed, the vulnerable groups of the population, households and small businesses will continue to suffer from the same Memoranda policies.

They don’t say this to the people.

The President of the governing DISY party Averof Neophytou also stated that the issues of the economy should not be the subject of ideological obsessions. As far as ideological obsessions are concerned of course, no, AKEL believes that matters relating to the economy are primarily issues that are bound up with ideologies; ideologies which have been built on the interests that each political force serves.

The political choices of the government, the policies of austerity, privatizations and “reforms” are solely ideological choices of the Government and are implemented based on serving big private interests.

Interests and ideologies are also behind the government’s position to exempt large property and landowners from paying taxation and to shift it on to the backs of small and medium-sized immovable property owners.

The government’s position to impose a multi-insurance system contrary to what was decided by all parties and all political forces for the General Health Scheme was also an ideological choice.

The same goes for the examples in all the cases concerning major issues that are before us. The list is endless.

Unmistakably ideological, that has to do with specific interests, is the question of the liberalization of shop opening hours in the retail trade sector in order to serve a handful of big companies, which have imposed, illegally we say, from March onwards the liberalization of working hours.

According to Mr. Neophytou these have nothing to do with ideologies, or are they primarily issues related to ideological political choices and ultimately to serve specific interests?

AKEL will continue to serve the interests of our people, the workers, households, SME’s, society in general, and will combat these ideological policies of the government and DISY party.