Nicosia, Cyprus. Disy said on Saturday that its agreement with social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou and his party, Direct Democracy Cyprus, was unrelated to the 2028 presidential election. The party said the deal, which secured support for Annita Demetriou’s successful re-election as House president, focused on social policies and was made with “absolute transparency”.
Disy rejects link to 2028 vote
Disy said the agreement was “on social policies and not on trade-offs”, and “made without any connection to the presidential elections, which some were courting”.
The party said the agreement was “an act of absolute transparency”.
Agreed policy priorities
Disy said the three policies agreed with Direct Democracy Cyprus were “within the goals and priorities of Disy, as they were presented prior to the election”.
According to a video posted to social media on Friday by Demetriou and Panayiotou, the policies include plans to build 10,000 new houses, provide cash payments worth thousands of euros to new mothers, and increase the minimum monthly pension.
Disy said it thanked Direct Democracy Cyprus for its support and noted “with satisfaction that it did not ask for anything in return to which we could not agree”.
It added that all three policies “have been priorities for us to demand from the executive branch for a long time”.
Cost of living and government priorities
Disy said the government “has not set the right priorities in recent years and has not adequately addressed the large increase in the cost of living”.
In the video, Panayiotou said he wanted mothers to receive €5,000 for their first child, €10,000 for their second child, and €15,000 for each subsequent child.
Demetriou said, “if we look at it holistically, my Fidias, it is feasible, and we in Disy say that we can even exceed those figures”.
Pension proposal
On pensions, Demetriou said, “it is time to support our pensioners, especially those receiving low or medium-sized pensions”.
“For those who contributed to the social insurance fund, €1,088 [per month] must be a right and we can succeed there,” she said.