ELECTION ISSUE
GOING GREEN
INSIDE
Read all about today’s second and final round in a special Monday election issue of the Cyprus Mail
There’s a growing interest in study courses related to environmental issues
TV and lifestyle supplements to see you though the week
Pages 4-5
www.cyprus-mail.com
February 24, 2013
€1.60
COFFEESHOP: THE BLACK AND WHITE PROPAGANDA SHOW INSIDE Cyprus Association aims for a place on the golfing map 2
World Son-in-law of Spanish king quizzed in court 8
Education The 20th International Education Fair centre
Lifestyle ‘Beam me up Branson’ How space station is developing 20
Sport Man United beat QPR to extend their lead back
PAGE 17
‘In the hands of the voters now’ Whoever wins will have the difficult task of negotiating a bailout deal By George Psyllides
C
YPRIOTS are voting today for a new president who will have to swiftly negotiate a bailout agreement that will bring the country back from the brink of bankruptcy but not without the pain of austerity. It is the second time in one week in which voters go to the polls, as no candidate managed to secure the required majority of over 50 per cent last Sunday. The choice will be between DISY leader Nicos Anastasiades, who gathered 45.46 per cent of the vote in the first round against 26.91 per cent for his opponent, AKELbacked Stavros Malas. Whoever wins will have the difficult task of negotiating a bailout agreement with international lenders in time to provide the cashstarved state a lifeline. Anastasiades told Reuters in an interview that various parties, including “governments and funds” which he did not identify, had been “sounded out” for a short-term loan to keep Cyprus going until the bailout. “This would be in order to complete the
(bailout) loan agreement with some comfort, without the threat or the fear of collapse,” Anastasiades said. The 66-year-old lawyer declined to say whom he had contacted. It was the first time a presidential candidate in Cyprus has disclosed talks to secure a loan ahead of a bailout rescue - talks which have dragged on for eight months. Malas, who is pro-bailout but anti-austerity, has been trying this week to woo the people who voted for Giorgos Lillikas, who came third with 25 per cent of the vote last Sunday. Malas has promised to include the forces who back him in a coalition government, but publicly at least, both Lillikas, and his backers EDEK, chose to sit on the fence during the runoff vote. Campaigning ended on Friday night with a televised debate between the two contenders mostly focusing, as the rest of the long election campaign, on the economy. It was the first time after the 1974 Turkish invasion that something other than the island’s political problem was the focus of a
TURN TO PAGE 3
‘LIMASSOLGRAD’ SIMPLE OR SINISTER?
Two women outside a Limassol mini-market that depicts Kremlin onion domes IN THE seaside town of Limassol, an image of the Kremlin’s onion domes adorns the doors of a local mini-market, Ferraris stand ready for hire by wealthy Russians and shops selling mink coats line streets drenched in warm Mediterranean sunshine. Home to over 30,000 Russians who began flocking to Cyprus after the Soviet Union’s
(R)
collapse and catering to more tourists each year, locals jokingly refer to the town, complete with Russian signs and schools, as “Limassolgrad”. “Cyprus is a fantastic place to do business from - people are friendly and for Russians it’s very convenient because every single person in Limassol
BY DEEPA BABINGTON TURN TO PAGES 6-7