By Christos Pourgourides
Today I want to make some brief observations on four or five issues that I consider extremely serious and for which, unfortunately, the prospects of better days arriving soon appear limited to non-existent.
The Cyprus issue and the search for a solution
I will begin with the Cyprus issue, which is critical to the country's future.
The most important aspect of the problem is that a significant portion of society, perhaps even a majority, has given up on the search for a solution. This is because many believe that a fair settlement is impossible due to Turkey's intransigent stance.
Yet what constitutes a fair solution in any dispute is impossible to define objectively. There is no scale capable of accurately weighing what each side gives and receives. Such judgments are ultimately subjective.
In the years following the invasion, a tendency gradually emerged to overestimate what we would give and underestimate what we would receive. Over time, this mindset became entrenched and continues to gain support.
President Nikos Christodoulides has continued the same dead-end policy pursued by his predecessor: speaking constantly about a solution while simultaneously cultivating a sense of injustice regarding any compromise proposal the other side might realistically accept.
With such approaches, the deadlock will remain and may soon become permanently sealed.
Education, the great patient
The next issue, which in my own ranking sits just below the Cyprus problem, is education.
I have previously described education as "the great patient". Some friends considered the description excessive. To avoid upsetting them, I am willing to say instead that our education system performs far below that of developed countries and below the level Cyprus deserves.
We have an educational system focused almost exclusively on transmitting knowledge while failing to develop values and broader intellectual and human capacities. It neglects children's existential, social, emotional and rational intelligence, qualities that are just as important, if not more important, than academic knowledge.
At no educational level do children acquire the tools necessary to fulfil vital life roles such as parent, employee, citizen, entrepreneur or partner.
Even when it comes to knowledge itself, our students perform far below those of most advanced countries.
Despite the considerable resources devoted to education, the results remain disappointing.
Nor is there likely to be meaningful improvement as long as teachers are treated by successive presidents as a political clientele.
Justice
Let us move to another major patient: justice.
Delays in court proceedings, both at first instance and on appeal, as well as delays in enforcing judgments, remain a serious problem and in some areas are worsening.
With great fanfare, we announced a third level of justice, yet it exists largely on paper.
As for the quality of judicial decisions, I would rather not elaborate for fear that disappointment may lead me to say more than I should.
In Singapore, when serious delays emerged several years ago, courts introduced shifts operating from 6 a.m. until midnight.
The problem was solved.
Such solutions are unthinkable in our country.
Traffic congestion
Would anyone like comments on traffic congestion?
Nearly four years have passed under the administration of Nikos Christodoulides.
No significant measures, such as smart traffic lights or similar solutions, have been adopted to address a problem that sends hundreds of our fellow citizens to psychologists and psychiatrists every month.
The situation worsens with each passing month, while the government remains at the stage of studies and assurances.
Indeed, when it comes to assurances and commitments, the current president appears to be surpassing his predecessor.
The cost of living
I have left the issue of rising prices until last.
Some measures have been taken, but for the most vulnerable groups the problem remains acute.
Thousands of our compatriots struggle to make ends meet. Many are forced to go without basic necessities.
Certainly, this is an extraordinary situation that originated outside Cyprus.
Yet much more could have been done to reduce the hardship suffered by those most affected by the crisis.
Along this difficult path, Cyprus must move beyond rigid dogmas.
We need more sophisticated political thinking. We need goals and focus.
Above all, we need original and creative thinking that is not imprisoned by the next election.
