The Cypriot political scene already has plenty of “characters”; one more won’t make a difference.
Especially in a country like ours where all the “characters” either win or are rewarded even when they lose.
Yes, the world won’t end if another “character” gets elected. That’s a certainty. Ideally, every sensible citizen should aim to rid politics of all kinds of “characters,” right? Not add more to the mix.
Isn’t this what logic dictates for the much-abused “best interests of the country”? In my view, anything else is like the saying, “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
In the case of the “phenomenon,” however, I don’t see many people opposing the above notion. That is, no one seems to think the world will end with one more “character” representing us. Most of what I read and hear are almost praises, even from people I respect. This suggests that we have generally and specifically lost our way.
They call it a “protest vote.” I heard an election analyst say recently, “There is no doubt, that the findings of the research indicate that we are dealing with a protest vote.” Thank you, but no thanks.
I view the protest vote as a very serious matter, and without wanting to sound dismissive or misunderstood, I don’t think there is much seriousness in this particular category—exceptions always exist, few or many. These kinds of “protest votes” are no different from the troublemakers who like to cause chaos indiscriminately, either “for fun,” because they “harbour a lot of anger,” or simply because… they feel like it.
It’s one thing to cast a protest vote and quite another to glorify nothingness; one thing to cast a protest vote and quite another to counter absurdity against what annoys me; one thing to cast a protest vote and quite another to give a vote of confidence to destruction and wholesale devaluation, which the extremes typically dictate.
Of course, I’m not an election analyst. I’m just expressing my opinion. How I perceive the situation, is based on my far from infallible understanding. After all, as the saying goes, “Reality is the perception of the mind. Once we have two different minds, we have two entirely different views of reality.”
It would indeed be interesting to have an expert provide us with specific examples and data on when and where serious protest votes have been recorded in local elections. Personally, over the past decade (a period during which voter movements have become more fluid), I can only cite the abstention of a large portion of traditional voters from a particular party as a serious protest in elections. The phrase “birds of a feather flock together,” which mainly pertains to the other “phenomenon” in the polls, the far-right, is not a “protest vote.” At least not in my eyes.
Especially in the case of Cyprus—exceptions always exist. This tendency can certainly be explained by various reasons, but I would not rush to sanctify it in the sanctimonious pool of opinion polls, labelling it a “protest vote.” Especially this particular tendency. Just as I wouldn’t simplistically label the indication that a portion of voters is attracted to some new formation as a “protest vote,” given that previous years’ analyses referred to a political void that was widening year by year, as well as a significant portion of the electorate that felt orphaned, either because they were disappointed by other parties that didn’t meet their beliefs, or because they no longer felt adequately represented by them.
Particularly regarding the rise of the far-right, there is no surprise. I would call it a natural consequence. And I must note that I haven’t seen any analysis of the rise of “phenomenon 2” that operates within this framework. Wrongly so. Very wrongly.
Although I understand the discomfort because it requires an admission! For normalisation. A Mea Culpa. “We made a mistake.” “We nurtured it.” “We played and sang to it in its crib”… Something, anyway. There are political, ecclesiastical, parliamentary, legal, academic, and journalistic responsibilities for this. Specific ones. Not vague. Who gave them microphones? Who turned a blind eye to their “proper pronunciation” on the “national issue”? Who pandered to them? There are many “who’s”… That’s why the sight of those lamenting like foolish virgins because their oil ran out can only provoke laughter.
Unfortunately, as you made your bed, so you must lie in it. But don’t expect us to wear black veils.”Protest vote”. characters, protest vote, rise of far-right
