Actually, we have some good sayings: “Don’t say amen to a prayer that won’t be answered,” “The fish rots from the head down,” and so on…
I think these sayings sum up the DPUG-UBP alliance…
What I mean is not that alliances cannot work!
It’s that an alliance cannot work like this.
In other words, setting aside whether a partial alliance was even possible, it could not have been expected to succeed if it had gone ahead. In fact, I wrote about this issue in this column on March 22, explaining why the alliance could not work and why, even if it did, it would fail.
Look at what I said that day:
“There are serious obstacles facing the alliance. First of all, perceptions among voters need to be managed very well, and voters need to be helped to distinguish clearly between the current situations. For example, UBP and DPUG will support a joint candidate in central Girne, but a few kilometres away, the same parties will be competing against each other. It will be very difficult for the parties concerned to explain this situation to voters and guide their choices.
“Elections are a process of persuasion. If parties say that their joint candidate will succeed in one area, but say the opposite in another area right next door, voters will be confused. Yet the greatest proof of political parties’ existence is their claims and ideologies. In this situation, in an area where there is no alliance, UBP or DPUG will have to tell voters, ‘Our candidate is a better administrator than the other one,’ while in an area where there is an alliance, they will have to say, ‘The candidate we both support is the person best suited to do this job.’ Their claims will lose ground, and their core voters may even reach the point of saying, ‘What is this farce?’
“…Going further, independent candidates could break the alliance, and different scenarios could emerge in different areas. It is known that such a situation is the case in Girne.”
As I wrote above, the partial alliance brought things to this point. In fact, if an alliance was going to be formed in the first place, it should have been a full alliance. The partial alliance was full of contradictions and dead ends, and that is why it ended. In other words, this is what happened when an alliance was formed without first making sure everything was firmly in place…
One side of the matter, though, is what has been gained.
I think both parties should be glad this ended early; otherwise, if this had happened during the election campaign—which it would have—it could have been much worse for both parties.
So, what happens now?
Both sides (UBP and DPUG) will continue to blame each other.
Candidates will continue to be announced in the meantime, and as a result, the election race will begin shortly.
I don’t think either party is late, by the way, because here, elections are decided in the final week—and often, unfortunately, on the final night.
Whatever happens, it is best to say that we hope it will be for the good of the country…
Until next week, I hope!
Please be respectful in traffic and obey the rules…
Best regards…