Energy Minister and DIKO vice-president Michalis Damianos has backed President Nikos Christodoulides for the 2028 presidential election, saying the party already has a candidate while arguing that an independent DIKO bid would be a mistake.
Speaking on SIGMA’s Protoselido on Wednesday morning, Damianos also sought to lower tensions following the public clash between DIKO president Nicolas Papadopoulos and Finance Minister Makis Keravnos over the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI).
‘DIKO has a candidate’
Damianos said the only decision currently in force within DIKO’s collective bodies is the one taken in 2022 to support Christodoulides’ candidacy.
“Politically, I believe that the Democratic Party cannot fail to support President Christodoulides, and there is no other decision by the collective bodies,” he said.
“The only one we have is from 2022, and it remains in force until it is overturned.”
Expressing his own position on the 2028 presidential election, Damianos added: “The Democratic Party has a candidate for 2028,” referring to Christodoulides.
He noted that DIKO had agreed both the election programme and subsequently the government programme with Christodoulides, adding that, in his view, it was being implemented “without any particular problems”.
Independent DIKO bid would be ‘wrong’
Asked about the possibility of DIKO contesting the presidential election independently, Damianos said he believed such a decision would be wrong.
“It would be the wrong decision, in my opinion. Certainly, because where are you going independently? What are you going to do as a party with 10%?” he said.
Damianos argued that Christodoulides draws support from wider forces within the centre and centre-right, while a second candidacy from the same political space could affect the balance of forces determining who reaches the second round.
Asked whether DIKO and DISY could eventually cooperate within a broader centre-right arrangement, he replied: “With Nikos Christodoulides as the candidate, why not?”
Calls for calm after Papadopoulos-Keravnos clash
Damianos also addressed the disagreement over the Great Sea Interconnector, following Papadopoulos’ criticism of Keravnos’ position on the project.
The Energy Minister called for both political parties and the government to lower the tone.
“We need to keep the tone down, both as parties and certainly as a government, so that we can move forward with the project,” he said.
“We want the project. The project is moving forward. We are also looking at the financial aspect. So the government’s position is that the project will happen, but we are examining the finances.”
Damianos argued that the various sides were broadly saying the same thing and that reducing public tensions would help allow the work to proceed.
GSI ‘geopolitically necessary’
Turning to the substance of the GSI, Damianos described the electricity interconnection as necessary for Cyprus’ long-term energy security and adequacy.
“We want the project. Geopolitically, we need it for electricity and energy adequacy. I would say it is the only way forward,” he said.
“Not for today, but for tomorrow, for five years, for 10 and 15 years. We need to be connected to another electricity grid.”
At the same time, Damianos acknowledged that the project’s financial dimension and overall cost must be clarified.
“The financial part has to be resolved. Therefore, we need this study,” he said, referring to the study by the European Investment Bank.
Electricity prices depend on cable cost
Asked whether the interconnection could lead to lower electricity prices, Damianos said this would depend on the final cost of the cable itself, which is one of the reasons the study is being carried out.
On the first €25 million payment for the project, Damianos referred to the position already expressed by Christodoulides.
He said Cyprus would proceed with the €25 million payment once Greece issues the NAVTEX allowing the French vessel to begin operations.
