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Anastasia Balezdrova

The autobiography of a politician who is unconventional, at least according to Greece and Cyprus’ standards, has prompted an assessment as to why the two countries have found themselves on the verge of disaster with a few years difference. The autobiography of former Cypriot President, George Vassiliou, entitled "A Modern Odyssey" was presented in Athens in the presence of two former Greek Prime Ministers, namely Konstantinos Mitsotakis and Costas Simitis, and of diplomats, politicians and academicians.

The book presents Vassiliou’s life and work, from his birth until 1988, when he was elected President of Cyprus. However, the story of his life is also a glimpse into the history of Greece and Cyprus, which has provided grounds for a return to the past and for criticism of the incorrect decisions and the reasons that have taken the two countries to the brink of economic disaster.

"George Vassiliou’s life is an amazing story. The most interesting stories are actually the stories of people who have found themselves at the centre of historical events and changes," said head of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy ELIAMEP, Lucas Tsoukalis. He described the book as the story of a generation that had objected to internal contradictions and pressures and had eventually managed to escape from the syndrome of the "poor statelet" and to create the preconditions for the European prospects of Greece and Cyprus.

George Vassiliou was born and raised in Cyprus, in a family of doctors with leftist political beliefs. The Greek Communist Party’s appeal on the need for physicians during the Civil War in 1949 had taken the family to the partisans in Vitsi and Grammos mountains. His father, Vassos Vassiliou, took part in the final battle when the communists lost the war. He was sent to Albania and then subsequently to the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, instead of to Hungary, where he wanted to go. The reason for this was his criticism towards the decisions of the Communist Party.

"Vassiliou avoids the political analysis and simply talks about the events. They show how Greece had found itself in the middle of the Civil War not only because the UK, the USA and the Soviet Union had perceived it as a pawn in their game to impose their power in Eastern Europe but also because the Greek political forces had fought against the conflict with each other, the ultimate goal of which was the destruction of the enemy," said former Prime Minister of Greece, Costas Simitis.

Nevertheless, George Vassiliou was able to go to Hungary where he was trained and worked as a mechanic. Then he went to London where he studied economics and then again to Hungary, before his final return to Cyprus in 1960. "Despite his faith in the socialist ideal of society, the experience he had gained during his 10-year stay in Hungary convinced him that the imposition of the dictatorship of the proletariat creates authoritarian regimes and so Vassiliou had a negative attitude towards socialism."

Costas Simitis and George Vassiliou during the presentation of the book

According to Costas Simitis both Cyprus and Greece are still faced with dogmatism and visions that are the product of the "old ideological constructions of the traditional left wing or are connected with the right-wing nationalism" which is reflected by the wrong political decisions taken in crucial moments.

He gave as an example of the dominance of retrograde forces the delay in resolving the Cyprus dispute, which continues to this day. "In connection with it two schools had formed in Cyprus, which played a decisive role in determining the policy of the Greek-Cypriot side and this was clearly shown during the referendum in 2004, when the plan of the UN Secretary General at the time, Kofi Annan, was rejected. They were the school of realists and the school of hard-liners. In the 1980s, Glafcos Cliridis and Ezekias Papaioannou were representatives of the first school and Spyros Kipriannou, Vassos Lisaridis, Tassos Papadopoulos and the Cypriot Archbishop of the second," said Simitis.

In this atmosphere of severe infighting George Vassiliou ran for Cyprus’ president. After his return until that moment, he was a successful business consultant and businessman. His candidacy had equally surprised Nicosia and Athens and all considered him an outsider and a political "paratrooper" because he was not part of the generation of politicians formed in the 1960s.

"Public opinion, however, perceived him as a young, uncommitted politician with professional experience, who could boost the economy. Vassiliou was able to attract the supporters of the left wing due to his family ideology and those of the right wing as an economist. He was also a worthy interlocutor of European leaders because he was completely devoid of the complexes of the leaders of the Third World."

In 1987 Vassiliou supported the adoption of a quick solution to the Cyprus issue because he knew that time was not on the side of the Cypriots, but it was not accepted by the other parties. However, Vassiliou won the election with 51.63% and it is expected that the second part of his autobiography will present his memories of his five-year term as President.

Costas Simitis expressed his doubt that Cyprus and Greece had learnt from the past. "The people who had supported the coup in 1974 were the same ones who wanted Athens to declare war on Turkey in 1997, during the crisis of the rock islands of Imia. Today they are urging Greece to unilaterally declare the boundaries of its exclusive economic zone in order for it to benefit from the alleged oil and repay its public debt. What should be clear to all is that if we do not cooperate with each other within the country we cannot inspire confidence in our international partners. Greece needs to acquire a culture of cooperation as it will be able to solve its problems in this way only."

In his brief speech, George Vassiliou expressed his gratitude for the discussion and said that since his autobiography had provoked such a discussion it was really worth writing it. According to him, his success as a professional and President was "the result of the knowledge that my parents have inspired in me, namely that in order for you to deal with a problem you have to make the necessary decision."

The former President of Cyprus expressed his regret that the government in Nicosia had not listened to the few voices which had warned, in due time, about the coming financial disaster. "I also wrote an article about what we could do without going so far as to sign the Memorandum and I became the target of criticism. Unfortunately, we, the bad ones, proved to be right."

However, he expressed confidence that Cyprus and Greece will be able to emerge from the hard economic situation. "I have always believed that you should not stop whatever the difficulties are. You must believe that you will succeed. If you yourself decide that you are doomed to failure then you have no future."