After years of steady decline in its support, the left-wing party Akel has decided it needs to broaden its appeal. Its traditional support-base which was force-fed the Soviet communist ideal is dying away while this discredited ideology means nothing to the younger generation of voters, even those from Akel-voting families. Finally, more than 30 years after the collapse of communism, the party has realised that it needs to move on, dilute its dogmatic approach and adapt to the new era.

On Wednesday night, at a gathering titled “With our eyes on the future,” general secretary Stefanos Stefanou announced the party’s plan to build a “social alliance” that will have a role and a voice. And the way to do this was by using the “progressive agenda” of the election programme of the independent presidential candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis that was the result of political debate between Akel and forces which did not belong to the Left.

It is a rather airy-fairy initiative, which Stefanou believes would attract people “of different ideological starting points, but common political aims,” because the “demand for change permeates society horizontally, moving beyond ideological boundaries and embraces broader groups that belong to different political spaces.” The party had learned, during Mavroyiannis’ campaign that half the population wanted a new type of authority, a state that is based on the principles of accountability, transparency, social justice, rule of law and would tackle corruption and sleaze; people that want the solution of the Cyprus problem to be a priority.

Is the Akel leadership so deluded it believes it could attract people to its social alliance from the whole political spectrum? Mavroyiannis’ good showing in the election run-off was not solely because of his election programme, which the majority of people most probably had not read. Much of his support came from those who opposed the rival candidate, for a variety of reasons, and thought Mavroyiannis would make a better president. In fact, his backing by Akel may have worked against him.

While Akel could rally some support from the Right and Centre for taking a more proactive, pro-settlement stand on the Cyprus problem it is unlikely to win people over by embracing the principles of rule of law, accountability, transparency, and campaigning against corruption. All parties pay lip service to these principles and Akel is as much a part of the party system as Diko and Disy.

The harsh truth is that Akel will not broaden its support base if it remains loyally stuck to the Marxist worldview, opposing the market economy and still relying on the Soviet era, anti-Western rhetoric. To broaden its support base, the party must break completely with the past, forget the Marxist theories about class and capital and re-invent itself as a social democratic party (with Edek having moved to the far right there is a big gap). This may alienate some of its traditional supporters, but it is the only way to make inroads among the younger generations, which are the future.