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Vanishing Cyprus: Politicocracy

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The United States Office of Strategic Services, analyzed Hitler’s greatest propagandist, Joseph Goebbel’s rule on persuasion and mass control as follows: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.
It’s as if politicians worldwide – Cypriots not excluded – have all studied the same psychological profile of the big lie in Mein Kampf on how to tell lies, and make promises they can never keep as long as there is a chance to gain power; for power is absolute and that’s precisely what they are all after!
“Politicocracy” in a state, can be described as having: “absolute control over the affairs of the country and its institutions by a political elite” which, in turn, could oppress the freedom of the mind and influence people to become subservient to politics. Normally this kind of suppression of free thought is predominantly found in deep-rooted cultures or in third world countries where people are systemically being deprived of free expression, either through religion, education, bad political system or autocratic leadership. It is that very reason why in those nations that people are more susceptible to persuasion.
This powerful mind control by an organized political elite has grown so pervasive that entire populations have become socially trapped to the detriment of growth and progress. Consequently, the noble practice of meritocracy that drives nations to rise above social, economic and political stagnation has been victimized and condemned to a slow death.
Economic governance has become a dominant factor where all things are measured by economic performance at the cost of everything else! Thucydides stated that: All political parties claim to have the good of the community at heart, while in fact they all aim at political control…and in the struggle for ascendancy indulge in the worst excesses. Profound words indeed and should never be forgotten when dealing with politicians.
On the surface, it may be argued that no such dominating power exists within the echelons of the political elite, but this assumption is far from the truth! Election frenzies are a good example of peoples’ mistaken perception of their duty to the state. The truth of the matter is, it makes no difference how one votes or who gets elected; the system ensures continuity of the status quo, irrespective which party controls the reins of power!
When it comes to Cyprus this appalling state of affairs is more than real; nothing moves without political-party influence or interference! Their far-reaching tentacles have spread across the island to permeate dogmatically every segment of society. Freethinking of the masses vanished the day Cyprus gained its independence and replaced it with a dogmatic, if not an ungodly politicocracy. This mind-set has not only managed to split the nation but it has also destroyed trust and moral culture in society.
Irrespective of the consequences, most people are still prepared to be associated with political parties. Essentially, they know that such “connection” could ultimately provide them with social recognition, other opportunities, or a job for themselves and their kin. In an unfair society such a possibility is manna from heaven! Under the present socio-economic conditions, to be politically “connected” is perceived to be a necessary evil for survival! It is a corrupting influence and a corruption, which only few can resist. To a small country however, this kind of behaviour is social suicide!
It is often questioned whether the average citizen has sufficient information to make meaningful evaluations on current issues in a culture submerged in dogmatic nonsense! It all stems down to a political system that has failed to liberate society from the old taboos and think for itself; instead, people are conditioned, “to do, and think as they are told!”
This archaic tenet provides the political plutocracy with a platform to actually influence the masses without accountability; no politician has ever been prosecuted for wrong doing since the day the Republic was established. One would think that angels governed this small island!
If political power is threatened, the ruling elite will not hesitate to enforce restricting laws to oppress – among other things – freedom of speech or the right to public protest. At the last elections 22% (113,282) voters refused to cast their ballot in protest of the status quo; this has sent out a message of no confidence in the political system! Under such conditions a disenfranchised society armed with social disillusionment and unfair redistribution of wealth, would, ultimately plot against those institutions that drain their resources; and the world has seen this happening many times over recently!
Media control on the other hand, provides politicians with a unique opportunity to manipulate events for their own propaganda. Nearly every political party in Cyprus has its affiliated newspaper or mass media sources bombarding the public with misleading information. Even football teams and their fans are associated with political parties. Such obsessive behaviour clearly displays how deeply the problem of systematic mind control has influenced society.
To really appreciate the size of the problem, the upcoming local elections offer a classic case of social domination. On December 18, the public (546,000 registered voters) will be voting for mayors, community leaders, municipal councillors and members of school boards across the country.
One may think that citizens are the masters of the vote and can select a candidate of their own choosing – wrong! Politicocracy has made sure that only they would have the last word, and not the voter! Therefore, all political parties have called a “truce of convenience” so they can slice up the pie in equal portions. Consequently, the horse-trading has begun with deals and counter deals for all the municipal positions up for grabs.
Party support does not come cheap either! The ruling party for example, has finally self-confessed that it maintains a policy that: if their candidates are elected, they are obliged to pay a substantial portion of his/her salary back to the party coffers for its support! If not, they are dropped! This unethical practice, which blatantly amounts to a flourishing “kickback” policy, has been going on for years without anyone – not even the opposition – ever questioning this appalling practice. Under those terms, the cycle of stale politics without transparency or accountability, corruption and nepotism thrives on encouraged by a flawed system.
Under the present political climate, radical changes need to be introduced to overcome the obvious schism among citizens and the political parties; citizens and the present system; and citizens and the state! Unless those problems are resolved people will always remain pawns in a society controlled by self-serving political parties that offer no meaningful future except for themselves.
In the end, it all comes down to bad politics and a badly divisive Constitution that needs to be scrapped or revised to meet the needs of all citizens based on the Rule of Law and not a controlling politicocracy…
Author of:
WHO SHALL GOVERN CYPRUS – Brussels or Nicosia? -Political analysis
ANDARTES – a revolutionary riveting novel
PORPHYRA in PURPLE – a metaphysical spellbinding novel
All books are available from: Bookshops, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Waterstone’s, Kindle and the Internet. Other published articles can be found on Google under “Vanishing Cyprus” or under “Andreas C Chrysafis”.

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