Annita was hell-bent on becoming President of the Republic as well. It wasn’t enough for her that she had ended up as DISY leader and House President because the stars happened to align. Averof is hell-bent on becoming President because he thinks he is Cyprus’s “messiah”, and because he wants revenge on those who sold him out in 2023. Pamborides is hell-bent on becoming President too because, evidently, he thinks he is better than Annita and Averof. None of them wants Christodoulides as President. And yet, incredibly, they have been scheming for some time now in a way that will get him re-elected!
The whole scene is one for the psychiatrists. But instead of opening their eyes to the fact that what has been going on at Pindarou in recent months is opening up ever more wounds, some people blame this column for writing about it. Yesterday someone commented that this column writes with… venom against DISY. He didn’t even notice that most of the time we write with sarcasm and humour.
If anyone does politics with venom, it’s the permanent residents of Pindarou. Just look at the latest instalment of the absurdities we started with. On the eve of the anniversary of the great “No”, Harris Georgiades stepped forward and delivered his own resounding “no” to Averof. Straight afterwards, Karousos and Demetriou bellowed their own strident “no” to Harris! And the NEDISY press spokeswoman followed suit…
Some people want us to shut our eyes and ears to this one-of-a-kind reality show that has so many viewers hooked. Sorry, but this is political knifing, pure and simple.
If there is one thing worth pointing out, it is that DISY’s officials and senior figures are gripped by a sense of supremacy unmatched anywhere in Cyprus. They think they have the political pitch to themselves. Harris Georgiades put it well yesterday when he said it is as if they are playing a family kickabout. And they think whichever of their own teams wins will walk off with the national championship as well.
The cold political reality is anything but. At some point they have to grasp that to get a President elected, they need other parties to vote for them, and voters from other camps too. Otherwise, it simply won’t…
They have paid for this arrogance before, and on their current course they will pay for it again. They have already paid for it with the parties genuinely closest to them in the centre ground, which they handed to the Presidential Palace on a plate. They had the chance in years gone by to reach out to them and bring them on side.
For the House presidency, for example, they could have sought a deal with a candidate from another party. But Annita wanted it all. This column never backed that kind of horse-trading. We mention it only to show that arrogance comes at a price.
Had they struck such a deal a few years ago, the landscape might look entirely different today, including for the 2028 elections. But those who hold power at Pindarou have always been ruled by a sense of superiority! We are here to govern, and the rest of you can come and vote for us! Well, gentlemen, that recipe doesn’t always work…
Which brings us to yesterday’s show of bravado from Harris Georgiades. On the substance of the bombshell he dropped, it is not our place to comment. He felt it, so he did it. The timing he chose is the issue.
Averof’s blackmail of Annita was blatant. He left it hanging in the air that if he were not DISY’s candidate, he would run as an independent, with all the devastation that would have caused. Annita stood in his way, because in a head-to-head between the two for the party’s nomination, his victory was far from certain.
So, for as long as that blackmail went on, and before Annita withdrew her candidacy, why didn’t you step forward, Mr Harris, to denounce it and warn that you would not back Averof if he secured the nomination?
In yesterday’s philenews vidcast you also mentioned, with visible distaste, that a possible DISY tie-up with small parties such as Volt, ALMA and Direct Democracy is being discussed. You were right to ask what DISY has in common with those parties. But when the public was watching the notorious Annita-Fidias video, on the strength of which you secured the House presidency, I didn’t see you come out and ask what you had in common.
Your thunderous “no” yesterday therefore barely matters now. It cannot change the course of events. It cannot halt the party’s internal contest. It cannot derail a possible Averof candidacy. In other words, your “no” came far too late. On the very anniversary of the truly historic “No”, the general shambles at Pindarou should prepare you all for the next big “no” that the majority of voters will give you!
