He will remain in the European Parliament because it is good for Direct Democracy to have one MEP, said Phidias Panayiotou, leader of the party, arriving at the Nicosia Municipal Theater for the proclamation of the 56 MEPs.
Asked to comment on the result of the Parliamentary elections, Mr. Panagiotou said that "you can't call it a failure in any way. We could have done better, but we are happy. It's a small victory that happened."
The Direct Democracy party has entered Parliament and now hard work begins, he added. Asked in which Parliamentary Committees the Direct Democracy MPs could participate, Mr. Panayiotou said that they discussed it last night, but they will discuss it again after they see which Committees will want MPs from other parties and which presidencies they will claim themselves.
Regarding the celebrations last night and where they would take place, and in a remark that there was a disrespect for the media in terms of information, Mr. Panayiotou said that it is a new party and they did not have a staff. Perhaps there could be better communication with the journalists, he said, explaining that they had said that they would make an announcement after the result in his village, and that is what they did.
Regarding the observation that 5.108 people voted for him and whether he considers him to be betraying them since they elected him to the Parliament and he chose to remain in the European Parliament, Mr. Panagiotou said that "you betray someone if you lie to them. I told the whole truth. I said that depending on the percentage we will decide and it is more important to have a seat in the European Parliament than not to have one. Because if elections are held again, it seems that we may not be the first party to take the seat."
Asked to evaluate the parliamentary group, whether it will be cohesive, Mr. Panayiotou said that they come from various ideological spaces, Direct Democracy has no ideology, but "we will unite together to help Cyprus."
"Wait and see," he said, regarding what the first issue they will put to a vote in Parliament will be, while for the Presidency of the Parliament he said that they will need Direct Democracy. Asked if they are pre-elimination anyone, he replied no. "We want to cooperate with everyone. We will sit down to discuss and act accordingly. But it seems that, because some have announced in advance that they will not cooperate with some, Direct Democracy is playing a regulatory role in who will be elected to Parliament," he noted.
When asked if they were approached by anyone, he said he could not answer that now. When asked if they would decide after asking the people, he said that he would talk to his MPs and they would decide. "We will cooperate with everyone for the good of Cyprus," he said. The goal, he added, is to create a Parliament of "national unity" and that is what they will try to do.
Regarding their stance in Parliament, he said that they will make decisions either among themselves or, sometimes, the public will vote.
He finally wished good luck to all those elected from all parties.
Source: KYPE
