Who exactly is Averof Neofytou talking to?

Opinion Cyprus problemdisyelections Who exactly is Averof Neofytou talking to? Αβέρωφ Νεοφύτου 4 Id 429116 Relevant News Who exactly is Averof Neofytou talking to? 19 August 2026 Turkey: Chasing ghosts, and being chased by them 19 August 2026 Nick Kyrgios suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine 19 August 2026 Costas Venizelos 19 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Averof Neofytou says he’s worried, like everyone else, about where the Cyprus problem is heading. And in that spirit, through his relentless string of public interventions, he’s been airing plenty of disagreements. He’s also dusted off his favourite theory: the one about all the “missed opportunities” on the Cyprus problem. It’s worth actually weighing up what Neofytou is saying, given he’s chosen to say it in public. The first question is about his references to the past. To what end? Especially when Neofytou himself was part of that past. He wasn’t just part of it, he was a leading player, whether as DISY president or as a senior figure on the right. If these comments are meant as self-criticism, he should say so plainly. Plenty of people link Neofytou’s constant interventions to his future political plans. He doesn’t seem to be angling for the DISY leadership again. But it’s blindingly obvious he’s after a rematch at the presidential elections. He lost in 2023. Does he fancy his chances in 2028? And how, exactly? By casting himself as the man who’ll solve the Cyprus problem? Plenty of others have tried that suit on for size. Either way, given what he’s saying, backing and pushing, and doing so in open confrontation with the leaderships of the two biggest parties, DISY and AKEL, the “solution leader” label he’s chasing only really fits between VOLT and a handful of fringe outfits drifting on the margins. That’s his business, of course. Who he wants to march with, and who exactly he thinks he’s talking to. At the same time, Neofytou is making the same mistake plenty of other politicians, journalists and the rest make. He starts from the premise that a solution rests entirely on “the two leaders”, while somehow the Greek Cypriot side carries the blame for the lack of one. Why? Because it won’t take unilateral action. And because, apparently, it fails to convince. What feeds that “failure to convince” narrative are the doom-mongers on the Greek Cypriot side who insist that because the occupying side won’t budge on anything, “we should be the ones to take the initiative.” Plenty of initiatives have been taken, now and over the decades. If the people pushing this line still don’t get it, the problem is occupying Turkey. It’s Turkey’s geostrategic interests and ambitions. And those don’t get overturned by a policy of appeasement and hand-wringing. The public, whatever the political leaderships believe, has sharper instincts than that. They proved it at a critical moment, in 2004. An overwhelming majority stopped the Republic of Cyprus being dissolved and the country being turned into a Turkish protectorate. Others, Neofytou among them, reckon 2004 was a missed opportunity for the Cyprus problem. The suggestion, for instance, is that AKEL should have taken a different stance in the referendum. Worth remembering: DISY did back acceptance of the plan, with Neofytou himself among the leading voices for that decision, yet the party leadership still failed to convince its own supporters to back the Annan Plan. AKEL, torn between yes and no, read the mood of its voters and decided only after actually listening to its base. What exactly did the DISY leadership listen to? The fact that the Cyprus problem remains unsolved isn’t down to the 76% who voted no. It’s down to those whose policies steered the country into the Annan Plan in the first place and whose content triggered its rejection. As for 2017 and Crans-Montana, no matter how many minutes get released, the usual storytellers still refuse to accept that it was Turkey that blew the process up. Nobody’s questioning anyone’s intentions when they weigh in on the Cyprus problem. Politics, of course, is neither Sunday school nor the scouts. Every move, every position taken, has a political explanation and a political target. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Turkey: Chasing ghosts, and being chased by them Nick Kyrgios suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine British Bases Police announce zero-tolerance policy for bird trapping season Things to do on Wednesday, August 19 Former Turkish Cypriot MEP Kizilyurek says he feels shame over Isaac, Solomou killings August rainfall proves highly beneficial, with 62mm falling in a single day Cyprus tourist arrivals fall 1.1% in July as Israel surge offsets European declines Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.