The Comeback of the Right in Crisis-Ridden Cyprus: The 2013 Presidential Elections

Abstract:

The Cyprus 2013 presidential elections marked right-wing Democratic Rally's return to power after ten years in isolation. The huge economic crisis sidelined discussions on the Cyprus problem – arguably for the first time in Cyprus' electoral history. The elections verified the prevailing trends already apparent in the rest of Southern Europe: incumbent punishment in the midst of an unprecedented economic (and political) crisis and the parting of politics from society as evident from the high abstention rates and declining partisan loyalties. The article aims to provide insight into the country-specific characteristics of this contest which explain these outcomes. It suggests that the electoral result might be explained by Cypriots' disappointment regarding the stalemate of the Cyprus problem, their unrealistic expectations of a change in government and their disappointment in European Union and national political institutions in dealing with the economic crisis.

ESO: Key Source: Cypriot presidential election, 2013 http://www.europeansources.info/record/cypriot-presidential-election-2013/

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