The party’s Deputy Chairman, Efthymios Diplaros, gave clear responses to the barbs directed at him by former DISY President Averof Neophytou, were provided by the party’s Deputy President, Efthymios Diplaros, on the Alpha News program. Mr. Neophytou accused the current DISY leadership of acting as a “silent coalition,” a fact he believes undermines the credibility of their opposition stance.
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Mr. Diplaros described Mr. Neophytou’s views as “entirely respectable and understandable” and made no secret of the fact that they had disagreed on “certain points” in the past.”
“You were here when you asked me about the 2023 presidential election; I don’t think I ever gave you the impression that I was an actor. It’s all over; President Averof Neophytou has said what he had to say.”
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At the same time, Mr. Diplaros denied that he had ever supported DISY joining the Christodoulides government, noting that he fully respects the decisions of the party’s collective bodies.
“We are all judged by our actions, and I am judged by mine. Beyond that, I have proven that my first priority is the party, and then my family. Is there anywhere it says that I said this party must change its decision so that we can join the coalition government? If it’s written there, I’ll apologize.”
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The Deputy President of DISY also defended the stance he took when Averof Neophytou ran as a candidate in the 2023 presidential election, saying that “I’m trying to count on my fingers whether I’m among the two or three who gave their all for Averof Neophytou’s candidacy.”
“If you ask him, he’ll tell you whether or not I supported him on the first Sunday. On the second Sunday, I didn’t vote for AKEL. Everyone had the right to choose AKEL or Nicos Christodoulides as they saw fit. Personally, I didn’t vote for AKEL, and I won’t be voting for them either.”
His main concern from here on out? To ensure that the internal party procedures for selecting Pindarou’s candidate are democratic, fair, responsible, and “flawless.” As for whether DISY will run against Christodoulides or Averof, he responds that this is a decision to be made by the party’s collective bodies.
“We have never hidden the issues we have with AKEL and Christodoulides, such as inflexible spending—the public sector payroll—the lack of decisiveness on certain issues, and across-the-board pay raises.”
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