The priority now is to get the party organized 

On the night of the parliamentary elections, at ALMA, they watched the results roll in in a daze. For several party officials, the belief that the party was “losing steam” as the elections approached had taken hold days earlier.

The hope of a double-digit percentage—which some polls had indicated in previous months—had vanished. The 5.8% result and the election of just four members of parliament brought Odysseas Michailidis’s hopes of running for the presidency of the Republic crashing down.

He admitted as much a few days later on the Alpha News program. Noting that the public did not rally widely behind ALMA, he stated that “As for 2028, in the sense of running independently and presenting this vision to the public, it’s certainly not the same anymore.”

Today, a potential candidacy by Odysseas Michaelides for the presidency has been put on hold. The political landscape and the results of the parliamentary elections make it extremely difficult for ALMA to “impose” its own candidate on its potential allies. According to information from Sunday’s edition of Alpha, he has also shared these thoughts with party officials.

What Went Wrong

The unprecedented—and unanimous—decision by the Supreme Court to remove Odysseas from his position as Auditor General had skyrocketed his popularity. In September 2024, an IMR poll conducted on behalf of Sigma TV found that 84% of respondents opposed the decision, which—according to them—exposed the “corrupt judicial system.” In fact, 69% of survey participants appeared willing to support Mr. Michaelides’ potential entry into politics.

What, however, changed 18 months later that caused Odysseas Michailidis and his newly formed party to lose the broad support they had enjoyed?

The election results did not come as a bolt from the blue. A series of rolling polls in recent weeks showed ALMA in free fall, for a number of reasons.

Communication blunders such as Eirini Charalambidou’s attack on journalist Stella Savva, Odysseas’ insinuations about Stefanos Stefanou’s involvement in corruption, as well as his strongly accusatory rhetoric throughout the campaign, led people to perceive ALMA as obsessive.

Public statements that “all parties are part of the establishment” and that “there is no intention of institutional cooperation with anyone” caused fear among his potential voters, driving them toward other options.

At the same time, the party’s organizational weakness, its lack of electoral experience, the absence of a solid party structure, its limited cadre of leaders, and the pressure it faced in recent weeks from the traditional parties all contributed to the election result of 5.8%.

Scenarios Looking Ahead to ‘28

Odysseas’s strongly accusatory rhetoric and his decision to launch a head-on attack even against the parties that had stood by him as protectors for years have led him to a rupture with the entire political establishment.

The 2028 presidential election now represents a prime opportunity for him to build bridges of cooperation. He hopes to break out of the impasse in which he currently finds himself by demonstrating that he can be in the same boat as those who aim to change the executive branch.

Based on the information available so far, the possibility of supporting an AKEL candidate is considered extremely remote. Equally remote is the prospect of supporting a figure chosen by the Left—one who, while coming from outside its ranks, is fully controlled by it. This is all the more so if that candidate’s policies fall outside the framework of the free market.

To this end, in the immediate future, Odysseas Michaelides will hold meetings with figures outside of ALMA. These are recognizable, professionally successful individuals who do not come strictly from the political sphere. Individuals whose independent candidacy could—under certain conditions—be accepted by both AKEL and other political forces, creating a prospect for victory.

If this effort is unsuccessful, the possibility of a candidacy by Odysseas Michaelides or another ALMA leader should not be ruled out. This is to ensure that the party does not appear inconsistent with the principles it has championed since its founding. It must not align itself, for the sake of power, with a candidate who would automatically make it part of the system.

Whether ALMA and Odysseas himself can become a key player or even a leading force in the political landscape leading up to 2028 will become clear in the coming months.

Laying the Groundwork for the Party

19 months before the presidential election, the current goal of Odysseas Michaelides—and of those who have stood by his side from the very beginning—is to consolidate the party. To organize it, establish stable operational structures, and—with the help of its four members of parliament—broaden its base of support in society.

Panagiotis Evangelidis, one of Odysseas’s closest associates, will play a key role in this effort, taking on the position of Head of Political Planning.

A milestone for the future of the ALMA movement will be its first Electoral Congress toward the end of the year, at which the party’s leadership will be elected. There, members will be called upon to elect the party leader, as well as the 50 members of the Political Committee, which in turn will elect the Deputy Leader, the Organizational Secretary, the Financial Secretary, and the Communications Secretary of the party.

However, the election of Odysseas Michailidis as leader of ALMA is considered a foregone conclusion.