Speaking on Politis Radio 107.6 & 97.6 and on the programme Morning Inspection, with Katerina Eliadi, he said that traditional smaller parties became trapped in introspection and failed to coordinate or deliver the message voters expected, while newer parties, despite a promising start, gradually showed they lacked personnel, ideas and the capacity to implement their proposals. “Voters’ anger and frustration receded and gave way to realism,” he noted.
Fidias case and limits of Direct Democracy
Referring to Fidias Panayiotou, Dionysiou recalled that he emerged “out of nowhere” during the European elections and was barely visible in polls just days before the vote. However, after a year in the public sphere, “we have seen him in countless interventions.” His team, he said, proved even more disappointing than Panayiotou himself, as it struggled to perform in television debates. “In leadership debates, he showed significant gaps and weaknesses,” he said.
How ALMA lost momentum
On ALMA, Dionysiou said the party began with significantly higher polling numbers but lost momentum as election day approached. In the final two weeks, leader Odysseas Michaelides came under pressure from major parties, particularly DIKO, but also DISY and AKEL, affecting the party’s image. He added that intense public confrontations unsettled voters, while newly formed parties lacked the organisational machinery needed for such a contest, including door-to-door networks, confident media presence and experience in handling campaign pressure. The final result, he said, reflected these cumulative weaknesses.
Volt and the Sandy case
Regarding Volt, he noted that it registered 1.7% in February polling, later recovered, and rose further after the Sandy case emerged. However, he suggested the same issue may ultimately have created problems for the party.
Scenarios for the House presidency
On the presidency of the House, Dionysiou identified three likely contenders: AKEL Secretary‑General Stefanos Stefanou, DISY leader Annita Demetriou, who seeks a second term, and DIKO president Nikolas Papadopoulos. ELAM is expected to field its own candidate in the first round, while its stance in a second round remains unclear.
He stressed that “the key word is DIKO,” noting that the combined 17 seats of DISY and eight of DIKO would form a majority and that, with ELAM abstaining in a second round, Annita Demetriou would be re-elected. As for ALMA, he estimated that, since it will not field its own candidate, it will logically support AKEL, as Odysseas Michaelides is looking, albeit with limited chances, towards the 2028 presidential elections.
Dionysiou explained that the House presidency is linked to the presidency of the Republic, as in the last two or three presidential elections alliances in parliament have influenced the presidential race as well. “If there is alignment between DISY and DIKO for the presidency of the House, a similar cooperation may also emerge in the presidential elections, although all scenarios remain open,” he said.
At the same time, he noted that it would be difficult for DISY to accept Nikolas Papadopoulos as Speaker while DIKO remains part of the Christodoulides government, given that DIKO has ministers in the government. DIKO, he said, is in a phase of reassessment and reflection, as it is not satisfied either with its cooperation with the government or with the way the President takes its partners into account.
Decline of centre parties
Referring to the major losers of the elections, Dionysiou spoke about the traditional centre parties, DIPA and EDEK, saying that their cycle is coming to an end. EDEK, as he said, has for a decade been moving between courts and public disputes without a substantive party structure, while DIPA operated as a clientelist party without prospects. For the Greens, he stressed that although they have the strongest brand due to the climate crisis, they deal with everything except ecology. As for the two new parties that entered parliament, he said they do not have serious personnel or ideological background. Commenting on statements by Michaelides and Panayiotou that they are now starting to build their parties, he recalled that the same had been said in the past by Eleni Theocharous, Giorgos Lillikas and Demetris Syllouris, but ultimately they moved on a temporary basis.
Impact on the presidency
Finally, Dionysiou said that the President of the Republic emerges weakened from the elections, as DIKO moved from third to fourth place and the other two parties that supported him did not enter parliament at all. As he noted, there is also a counter-narrative circulating, that the President supported DISY in Paphos and that the party’s rise from 23% to 27% is due to that, something he described as exaggerated.
