Next May parliamentary elections will be held, and it appears there will be a large number of parties competing for seats. Seven parties are currently represented in the House, but there will be at least another two putting up candidates in May; there could be more.

The overriding impression is one of confusion. Parties do not appear to stand for anything as both ideological and national positions have become unclear. Indicative of this confusion was Diko leader Nicolas Papadopoulos claiming on X that Akel was aligned with the far-right Elam on economic issues and had joined forces “to lead us back again to 2013.”

Akel and Elam both engage in bank-bashing but Papadopoulos was responding specifically to the claim made by Akel party leader Stefanos Stefanou in an interview in Kathimerini, that Diko, Disy, Dipa and Volt “are the bodyguards of the banks.” Stefanou was talking about Akel’s proposal for the taxation of the banks’ super-profits, which the above-mentioned parties, presumably do not support, in contrast to Edek and Elam.

Papadopoulos’ attack on Akel, for “cooperating impeccably with Elam on issues of the economy,” was in effect directed at Elam to which Diko”, like Disy and Edek, has been losing votes for some time. On migration, high prices and the Cyprus problem (although fast becoming of little relevance), the only difference between the two is that Elam uses more hardline rhetoric.

Elam has wreaked havoc on the party scene because it has been on the outside, rarely challenged in the media for its often simplistic positions. The media idea of not giving exposure to the far right party has worked in its favour as it has not been asked to explain its positions, thus being allowed to get away with hollow rhetoric and pose as the champion of the poor classes, which it supposedly defends from the threats they face from illegal migrants.

In the past there was differentiation over the Cyprus problem, with Disy and Akel unreservedly supporting a federal settlement, while the others belonged to the so-called rejectionist school. With the problem having disappeared from public debate there is very little to set Diko and Disy apart. And now that Diko has decided to embrace fiscal discipline and prudent economic policies, to counter Elam’s populist, Akel-like economics, it is not very different from Disy.

Parties like Diko, Edek and Dipa, which also happen to belong to the alliance that elected Nikos Christodoulides, also appear undecided over whether they will campaign as ‘pro-government’ parties. The problem is that Christodoulides’ policies, with the exception of the Cyprus problem, on which he has not been tested, are much closer to Disy. None of Diko, Edek and Dipa were ever known for their pro-Western sentiments – they were much closer to Russia – but now they support the most pro-US president in the country’s history.

It is a confusing mess, and it will be fascinating to see how the parties try to find the clarity that will appeal to voters over the next months.