• It’s a good thing that EVERYONE is thinking about the Cyprus issue

• From the five-party talks to Guterres’s visit

• The President’s “hue” that’s getting on the Turks’ nerves

• July 15: The “Castle” that was reduced to rubble

Good morning. So what if 52 years have passed since that summer of destruction? We’ll just keep going around in circles with the same old stuff: Sirens (that don’t even go off as scheduled), clichéd phrases at memorial services, arguments about the commandos, and pledges for a sustainable and workable solution to the Cyprus problem. Well, here’s to good health next year…

• On this last point, however—the Cyprus problem—everyone’s just having a laugh. The President is making plans for the presidential election but is expecting “serious news in the coming days,” DISY has split into three factions (so far) but is also recalling Glafkos Clerides and his vision for a solution, AKEL is already drawing red lines, rejecting any NATO involvement in the guarantees without realizing that Cyprus already has one foot in the alliance. In short, everyone is posing as champions of “seizing this last chance,” yet they have other motives in mind and are still discussing matters in Cold War terms.

• And in the midst of all this, Antonio Guterres is coming. Until now, we knew that in late July or early August, the Secretary-General would convene an informal five-party meeting. Now he has decided to come to Cyprus himself and meet with Christodoulides and Erciyuman, who for months have been unable to agree on opening a roadblock. I hope I’m proven wrong, but something doesn’t feel right about this whole situation. In any case, if Christodoulides managed to draw them all into a public relations game of impressions, I’ll tip my hat to him. Of course, the Secretary-General will be in the Middle East, and it seems he wanted to get a taste of the Cypriot heat as well.

• It’s no surprise that Fito(s) was appointed as the EU envoy on the Cyprus issue. Ursula couldn’t have found a more Cypriot approach. If nothing else, just by his name, we feel closer to him. Who knows, he might even have roots in Paphos…

• I like Averof Neophytou. He set up his campaign office, launched his WhatsApp channel, and—as I’m told—collected the signatures he needs to run as a candidate for DISY, but… he’s setting an example of responsibility and seriousness by calling on everyone to focus on the Cyprus issue right now. Pafios is crafty, but the others aren’t fooled either.

• Take Anita, for example. She’s gathering around her those who failed to get elected to parliament and turning them into “shadow” candidates. That’s more or less how she’s building her own team, giving them a little wink that if she’s elected president of the Republic, all of them will be potential ministers, deputy ministers, spokespersons, commissioners, and whatever else might satisfy human ambition. These are momentous times. However, not everyone said “yes” to Anita. There are also those who politely declined the “honorary appointment.”

• But Pamporidis has his own way of doing things, too. So far, he is the only one who has publicly declared his intention to run for the DISY nomination, but he accuses Averof and Annita of working behind the scenes toward the same goal. Among schemers, Giorgakis’s honesty stands out.

• Go on vacation, get some rest, because starting in September we’ll have a lot to see and hear. And no, I’m not referring to the Cyprus issue. I’m referring to the preparations many are making for the deluge of polls that awaits us. These will determine a great deal, both within DISY and regarding what Nikolas will ultimately decide at DIKO. Because, “if Annita pulls the trigger,” she has Christodoulides’s resignation ready to go—using a pretext she’ll easily find. And I very much fear that the well-worn scenario of disagreement over the Cyprus issue will repeat itself.

• Anastasia Anthousi has always been my favorite. But with her decision to file a complaint with the electoral court, highlighting the absurdity of our electoral system, my feelings for her have grown even stronger. If this appeal is successful, we’ll see some corrections to the peculiar (to put it mildly) composition of the new Parliament. At least some people will stop sleeping in the Parliament’s offices.

• All well and good for DISY. But what are we going to do about EDEK? On the very day that all its leaders were appearing on television to remind everyone of the party’s resistance to the coup, Anastasiou dropped the bombshell and walked out, leaving the “party of resistance” with no defenses left against the virus of disintegration. And so the “Castle” fell apart, confirming the political reality that one-man parties—which cling to half-century-old proclamations while the whole world has turned upside down—have no future.

• This farce with our President—who goes up to talk to any Turkish official he sees and then leaks a photo to show, as if to prove a point, that they recognize him—must stop. Even the Turks have caught on and are starting to get annoyed. Especially when, after the 5-second greeting with Fidan, they heard him declare that “in light of all these developments, the actions, and the moves by the UN Secretary-General, as well as the moves on the part of the EU, we had an exchange of views.” For heaven’s sake, Mr. President. Not everything is just a public relations ploy.

• I don’t know what the President will do about the much-talked-about cabinet reshuffle, nor whether it will ultimately satisfy Nikolas. One point, however, must be made: If there are plans to replace the Deputy Minister of Research and Innovation, Nikodimos Damianou (which may well be justified), the President would do well to reconsider. Mr. Damianou has the unique distinction of being the one and only minister in this government who admitted his department’s responsibility for the mess with the televisions. At least that should be acknowledged.

Have a good Sunday. Keep your cool because there are many developments on the horizon: the anniversary of the invasion, a cabinet reshuffle, and Guterres’s meetings. In that (probably) order.