What can be considered politically oxymoronic?
Source: in-cyprus.com
They expelled them and found peace! Because it was ‘politically oxymoronic’ – as Annita Demetriou put it – for ministers, as bearers of executive power, to also be members of the party opposing the government. However, ‘the decision doesn’t apply to semi-governmental organisation members or ordinary party officials,’ stated the DISY president (according to the Cyprus News Agency), further clarifying that this wasn’t an act of revenge.
From the dictionary: Oxymoron (from Greek oxys ‘sharp’ + mōros ‘foolish’) is a figure of speech combining contradictory terms that nonetheless express a logical meaning. Oxymoronic: contradictory, where actions or qualities cannot logically coexist; seemingly foolish but actually quite clever.
After Annita Demetriou’s statement, I, like many others, had to consult a dictionary to understand why she chose this justification for expelling four government members from the party she leads.
According to the decision passed by a large majority at the Democratic Rally (DISY) conference, four party members were expelled. The reason? Their participation in Nikos Christodoulides’ government.
The DISY president clarified that the decision doesn’t affect members of semi-governmental organisations. These organisations are “public utility entities where the state is the main shareholder and are governed by boards appointed by the Council of Ministers.” Current board members of these organisations had previously been vetted by the so-called ‘advisory council’. In short, these individuals knowingly sought positions in organisations that are effectively government extensions. They, too, wanted to serve the current administration.
On 15 February 2025, according to the current DISY president, this closed “with political correctness” an “anomaly, thus restoring DISY’s course.”
On 12 July 2022, former DISY president Averof Neofytou had a different view on expulsions. According to Philenews, “Averof Neofytou put an end to rumours about Nikos Christodoulides’ expulsion before the Political Bureau: ‘We are not a party of expulsions. I take responsibility for this. Everyone charts their own course and is accountable to DISY’s supporters,’ he reportedly said, adding that the party had its own presidential candidate and wasn’t concerned with other candidacies.”
According to a European People’s Party decision, President Christodoulides is a member of this European political group. His membership was approved with the consent of the Cypriot sister party – DISY.
On 3 September 2024, DISY announced its Cyprus issue advisory group, including Anna Procopiou-Kokkidou, who was dismissed by President Christodoulides as Minister of Justice and Public Order before completing one year in office. Today, sources suggest she’s being promoted for DISY’s parliamentary election ticket in 2026. Similar rumours circulate about former Defence Minister Michael Giorgallas.
In December 2024, Christoforos Triantafyllou was chosen by DISY’s president as Secretary for Cyprus Issue and Bicommunal Relations. Before his appointment, he was spokesperson for Achilleas Demetriades’ campaign team in the 2023 presidential election. On 11 May 2021, Triantafyllou posted that “In any other country, people would understand that a vote for DISY is a vote for corruption.”
This raises some questions. When exactly is something politically oxymoronic:
Is it when four party members participate in a government, or when party members participate in the broader government through semi-governmental organisations? Is it the attempted inclusion on the parliamentary ticket of two former ministers (non-party members) from the same government where four DISY members still serve? Is it the political correctness of expulsions, or that DISY isn’t a party of expulsions? Is it appointing someone to DISY headquarters who once said “a vote for DISY is a vote for corruption”?
Indeed, what can truly be considered politically oxymoronic?
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
