Democratic Rally (DISY) leader Annita Demetriou personally invited Frixos Koulermos to Thursday’s contentious meeting at the party’s headquarters on Pindarou Street, the ‘Alithia’ publisher said on Saturday, adding a new dimension to the affair and deepening confusion within the party.
Koulermos, a founding member of DISY, issued the clarification after a new atmosphere formed around his role at the meeting. Until Saturday morning, the impression had been that he accompanied former party leader Averof Neofytou, and that was evidently what Giorgos Pamborides was referring to on Friday when he spoke of guardians. If the invitation came from Demetriou, however, the equation is different, and the questions it raises are for the party leader to answer.
The situation at Pindarou remains extremely fluid, with numbness and concern among DISY supporters over both the events themselves and what is being leaked about what did or did not happen before and during the meeting.
Information leaking from party headquarters and from party officials points to Demetriou sounding out an informal deal with Neofytou. According to this information, she sought the former leader’s support for her to stay on as party leader, with her withdrawing her bid for the party’s presidential nomination and Neofytou entering the internal contest.
Pamborides has said that on Thursday morning Demetriou called him and asked him to come to party headquarters, setting the appointment for 3pm, and told him she was troubled by the possibility of withdrawing her candidacy. Neofytou had been invited and arrived at 2pm, at the same time as Koulermos. Why Pamborides was called to the meeting an hour later is another open question.
Last week, reports said that Onoufrios Koulla and one other person had visited Neofytou’s political office on Wednesday, the day before the meeting. Reports were also swirling last week of polls showing Demetriou’s momentum collapsing. Evidently, the cost of the fallout from the notorious dinner at the fish taverna had begun to register.
Her decision to withdraw continues to provoke reactions and debate. According to some information, there was concern in Demetriou’s circle, fuelled by the prevailing atmosphere, that she now ran a serious risk of losing the internal vote, and this weighed in her decision. A defeat in the internal contest for the nomination would have been much harder to handle than withdrawing and presenting the move as one made for the sake of unity.
There is no doubt that a possible Neofytou candidacy outside the party would cause DISY a serious problem. Many, however, believe the former leader would not dare to take that step. But even if he did, the DISY leader should not have given in to the pressure.
The question of the party’s leadership is now tentatively entering the equation, raised by people both inside and outside Pindarou. Party officials say Demetriou showed weakness in the first serious crisis she has had to handle, and interpret her move as a choice of personal survival.
Coalition scenarios
Scenarios for the presidential election are also being discussed with concern in DISY circles. Pamborides says the party should not support President Nikos Christodoulides in the second round, while Neofytou still faces criticism over what happened between the first and second rounds in 2023.
Party officials are letting it be known that they will back Christodoulides from the first round. And from the upper floors of Pindarou, depending on the audience, this can now be heard: “Well, if ours doesn’t make it, let’s back Christodoulides and share in government.” That scenario would secure support for the leadership staying in place.
Ioannides backs Pamborides
Michalis Ioannides, head of the party’s council for monitoring the government’s work and one of Demetriou’s closest associates, has also entered the picture, telling Kathimerini in an interview on Sunday that he will back Pamborides for the nomination.
Read more:
