The Left and the crisis in Cyprus

invited book chapter in March L. and Keith L. (eds), The radical Left and the crisis

Abstract:

The Left and the crisis in Cyprus is a particularly interesting topic to investigate because the Left happened to head the government at the time when the crisis unfolded and because the crisis in Cyprus developed with intense rapidity and severity. This chapter discusses the relationship of the Cypriot Left and the economic crisis in three inter-linked dimensions: a) the response of the AKEL to the crisis in terms of discourse and action while holding state executive power, b) the stance of the AKEL while being in opposition and c) the impact of the crisis on the Left's support base, including AKELian intellectual production. Whereas the first two dimensions correspond to two temporally different modalities and are externally oriented in the sense of examining policies and rhetoric, the third one assumes a unified moment and an inward perspective attempting to tap on the actual impact of the crisis in socio-economic, organisational and ideological terms on the Left's rank and file members and voters alike.  

Gregoris Ioannou and Giorgos Charalambous