The newly elected President of EDEK, Sofia Christodoulou Makri, visited the Presidential Palace today, where she met with President Nicos Christodoulides.
Welcoming Ms. Christodoulou Makri, the President of the Republic said, “EDEK deserved to be in Parliament for many reasons, and I believe it can return to Parliament.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
EDEK played a decisive role in shaping our pre-election platform, particularly on social issues, to which the party shows particular sensitivity,” said the President, adding that “many of the policies” being implemented by the government “are moving in this direction.” “These are ideas that were promoted by EDEK, and there are many others that we will implement; we will announce them in order to improve citizens’ daily lives and further boost disposable income, taking into account today’s challenges, particularly regarding issues affecting the younger generation—and I am referring specifically to housing, which is a major challenge,” he emphasized.
“We have the opportunity—and I am pleased that we have the financial capacity—to make significant investments in more than ten projects, with a total investment exceeding 400 million euros,” said N. Christodoulides.
The President, welcoming the new President of EDEK, said he looked forward to their discussion, to exchanging views, and to whatever they wished to discuss. “We are here to cooperate, to help with this new effort being launched by EDEK, which is an important pillar of Cyprus’s political life, with a long history—it is one of the earliest parties, after AKEL; it is the second-oldest party, founded by Vassos Lyssarides in 1969,” he added.
“And regarding the Cyprus issue, even though EDEK is not participating in the National Council due to the results of the parliamentary elections, we will maintain frequent contact so that I can keep you informed. This is an issue that concerns EDEK and the EDEK community, so we will hold regular meetings to ensure you are fully informed and can in turn keep the party’s collective bodies updated on developments regarding our national issue, which concerns us all,” he said.
For her part, the new President of EDEK noted that she wants to see an EDEK “that will address more social issues, labor issues, and the issues of everyday life; for these reasons, EDEK is needed in the country, not just for the Cyprus issue,” on which the President had significant discussions with my predecessors.
“Our relationship with the government is extremely important to us. We want to play a more active role, not only on the Cyprus issue but also on issues that concern society on a more day-to-day level,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we were left out of Parliament for the first time in many, many years. EDEK needs this renewal, this fresh start. I believe this fresh start has begun, and I want to emphasize that EDEK is not just 3.3 percent—it is much more than that—but due to certain specific circumstances, mistakes, oversights—whatever you want to call them—EDEK clearly has a much higher percentage, and we’re already seeing a return of party leaders, which is very encouraging. And my goal is not only for our former members to return, but also for EDEK to start attracting new people. Unfortunately, we also have a high abstention rate in Cyprus, so there are some people who may be inspired by this new effort we’re making as EDEK,” he concluded.
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