A friend, who has lived in North Cyprus for a couple of months and keeps being interested in the development was asking me after the elections in the South of Cyprus if I would be writing about it, as she would like to know my opinion. I answered back that I would never write about politics here or elsewhere and make it public, this I would leave to the experts.

Hmmm. I thought about it for the whole day; if everybody would think like that, the wheels of politics would be left entirely in the hands of those who do not work for society but for their own good and a thin layer of their friends’ circle. So I decided to open my reserved attitude a little and think aloud.

In the case of the Southern part of Cyprus, time will have to show; the voters were of two different motivation groups, and unfortunately the results were more or less half and half; it will be hard for a president to fight things through. Is he willing to work for a reunification both sides can accept, and if yes, can he pull it through with a strong opposition? That is the big question.  But the actual problem the people in the South have is the financial crisis as in some other European countries.

So much has been happening during the last two weekends, and never has so much hope been put into new elections, (also the re-elections of governmental party leader on the Northern side), in the European Mediterranean area, in the fight for survival of countries after years of sloppy handling of economic affairs. So many had got caught in the gold rush, had helped themselves from the horn of plenty, and nobody in Europe stopped them, there were no laws. Now things have come to a standstill and so many realize that they are left with empty hands and with a load of stones around their neck. The funny thing is that the population old enough to vote doesn’t really reflect upon the consequences of their decisions; they are so easily manipulated by promises some politicians make to get the power into their hands. However, politics in democracy is a two sided thing, the power of the politicians and the will of the people. Unfortunately the flow of information is not good and often only half truth.

Why should we the population suffer from the incompetence of the people in power, many shout in the streets. We have witnessed this in Spain, Greece and Italy. Look at Italy where a man who is known for his ruthlessness stands up for re-election and makes promises to the population without knowing how to handle it. Where has this landed the country? How can one man promise to pay back taxes? How can people, who should know the situation of their economics, fall for it, it is absolutely short-sighted. The results affect the whole of Europe now.

We the population give our votes to people who make the highest promises. There is something wrong, we judge people standing up for elections by their way of speech, their smartness and good looks but not for their competence. The politicians buy votes and make promises that they know they cannot fulfill. And we are easily manipulated and reflect only over the things that concern us personally and not as a whole, for the good of all of us. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours, that is the motto among people in power today, everywhere.

Since the Euro was introduced in Europe people find it easy to seek the culprit in the currency and exclaim that they don’t want the Euro, the whole dilemma is because of the Euro. Please think twice. With the growth of Asian markets, markets in the Near East we will have no chance whatsoever if we had remained individual small countries. This is one side of it. The other side of it is my strong belief in a United Europe,  that it is a wonderful occasion for our young people, for them to study and later work everywhere; a benefit for all of us, of free movement with just one currency, of cultural exchange, of a choice given to select one’s living space in the whole of Europe, to do trade and other exchanges without any borders and restrictions. Freedom of movement in many ways. The advantages of the Euro have become self-understood and we tend to forget how it used to be before.

Mistakes have been made, that is true. What we can do is to vote for those politicians who have learnt their job, who are willing to find a way out of the mess we are in, politicians who think globally and don’t buy votes and defend themselves by putting the blame on their opponents, and politicians who have a vision and a kind of responsibility for the job they are doing. The profession of the politician has not the best of reputation anymore, perhaps there should something be done as well; the politicians should not forget that they are servants of the public and not we servants of them. We need politicians who are proud of their job and who will give their best and follow high morale values.

I grew up with the idea of a United Europe and when at the age of 18 I was asked what my nationality was I answered proudly: I am European; and when you ask me today, I say: I am a World Citizen. That would be our next step, my friends.