Charalambos Charalambous resigned yesterday as director of President Nikos Christodoulides’s office, a day after the president’s wife stepped down from the state charity body at the centre of a growing political crisis sparked by a video alleging corruption inside the Presidential Palace.
Philippa Karsera quit as president of the Independent Social Support Body on Sunday and withdrew from all philanthropic work. Her husband now faces intense pressure from both opposition and coalition partners over the fund’s operations.
The double resignation followed a critical weekend meeting. DIKO leaders visited the Presidential Palace for crisis talks that pushed the government towards action.
Christodoulides told journalists he was treating the matter with absolute seriousness. He called on state authorities to use all available tools for a full investigation.
“Regarding the Fund, I want to share with you that my first thought is its complete abolition,” the president said. Some have suggested transferring it to the State Scholarships Foundation, but he noted critics would still attack him since the government appoints that body’s president.
The president pledged to protect students who depend on the fund. “Of course, for the thousands of disadvantaged students who have benefited, we will find a way,” he said. The state’s strong fiscal position allows the government to address such challenges.
Christodoulides called this a moment of crisis and warned political parties that their attacks would backfire. “My message to the political forces is that I very much fear the reaction to this situation and the results of this reaction will be seen by all of us in the parliamentary election results in a very few months,” he said.
Asked about publishing the donor list, he said there was no problem doing so “on the basis of the relevant legislation.” He was ready to proceed “with open cards and above all clean hands.”
Christodoulides said the EU had warned the government about hybrid warfare when Cyprus assumed the EU Presidency. He said relevant state services were handling the matter and the executive branch does not intervene whilst investigations are ongoing.
Charalambous, in his resignation statement, said state institutions must act to restore the truth and expose the malicious intent behind the attack. He stressed he had never harboured political ambitions. “My participation in the government was not an end in itself, but a conscious choice of service, as a contribution to an ambitious governance programme,” he said.
Political parties welcomed both resignations but pushed for more action.
DISY president Annita Demetriou called the resignations correct but said citizens demand a concrete action plan. She wants full independent investigation and either drastic changes to the fund or its complete abolition.
AKEL dismissed the resignations as delayed and said they do not save Christodoulides, who “obviously knew and participated in the mechanism of entanglement.” The party demanded he answer whether reports about a joint teleconference between former official Lakkotrýpis, Charalambous and an “investor” were accurate.
DIKO president Nikolas Papadopoulos called the resignation imperative, saying Charalambous had exercised very poor judgement. He confirmed DIKO had set three terms: Charalambous’s immediate resignation, abolition of the fund or its transfer to the Scholarships Foundation, and appointment of criminal investigators to examine the video at the centre of the controversy.
EDEK’s Political Secretariat called on the president to arrange cabinet appointment of independent criminal investigators, publish all contributions made to the fund, and proceed with its abolition.
VOLT described Charalambous’s resignation as a first indication of accountability.
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