There were moral and institutional responsibilities on Charalambos Charalambous’s part regarding the cleverly edited video footage. First of all, there’s no doubt the video is the product of a hybrid operation against the Republic of Cyprus. We mustn’t forget that. The stitching together of statements, the tampering with questions, the absence of subjects in sentences—none of this permits sharp criticism without reservations.
However, in one of the few instances where the video frame wasn’t “doctored”, Charalambous made a statement that’s probably unforgivable for a Presidential official. At 3’23” of the footage, he tells “Florin Georghiou” quite clearly that if he strikes a deal with “Yiorgos” (for the €150 million investment) and submits applications, he himself will pick up the phone to put his requests to the public sector as a priority.
In plain English, the director of the President’s office told us he’s ready to lean on civil servants to serve private interests, exploiting his position as the Presidency’s chief of staff. He was right to resign, and right to say he’s doing it for the good of his country.
What he forgot to do, though, in the statement accompanying his resignation, was to engage in any self-criticism or acknowledge his mistake.
Φ.Μ.
