Disy leader Annita Demetriou made it very clear on a TV show on Tuesday that the party would have its own candidate in the 2028 presidential election. There was no way her party would back President Nikos Christodoilides: “It is not possible for him to have our support,” she said, as Disy was in opposition and would present its own manifesto for the election.

Silly as this may seem, it was necessary to make this statement of the obvious to stop all those working on creating a political atmosphere from which Christodoulides would emerge as the only candidate of the Right and the Centre. The presidential palace has been involved in continual efforts through social media and news outlets, to cultivate the idea that the candidate with best chance of winning is the president.

This narrative has featured prominently in the most staunchly pro-government newspaper, with one of it columnists arguing that backing Christodoulides would solve all Disy’s problems, ending the in-fighting, the divisions and rivalry among possible candidates. Surrendering the party to an outsider was presented as a realistic option for the party as a way forward.

It would be rewarding the man who caused the split in the party in the first place by standing in presidential elections against the Disy candidate and who has been constantly trying to draw voters away from it, by offering them positions and other benefits. What self-respecting Disy leader could deliver the party to the man that has been doing everything in his power to weaken it for his personal gain?

Bizarrely, a few hours after Demetriou’s statement, former Disy leader Averof Neophytou, who has also set his sights on the Disy candidacy, announced on a TV show that he would be by the side of Christodoulides if he was working for a Cyprus settlement. Where did that come from considering we are nowhere near a settlement? The two sides are still bickering about confidence building measures, so what made Neophytou declare his support for a president who has given no indication that he is remotely interested in working for a settlement?

This peculiar stance by someone who has never hidden his interest in the Disy candidacy made Demetriou’s statement a necessity. She had to put an end to the rumours that Disy could back the Christodoulides candidacy and that this would be in the party’s interests. It is not enough, however, just to declare this. Disy should also start acting like the opposition party, Demetriou claims it is. For three and a half years it has given the president an easy ride, giving the impression, on many occasions, that it was a pro-government party.

These mixed signals must stop and Disy needs to start acting like an opposition party because if it fails to do so, party members would vote for Christodoulides even if there a Disy candidate.