As details of the cabinet reshuffle and the names that were to be announced “any minute now” last Friday began to leak out, the President’s Office beat the drum and the Alarm Party danced. A strong indication that the changes Nikos Christodoulides was pushing for in the cabinet were testing the balance of power at Pindarou, causing upheaval.
Turbulence that reaffirmed what has long been apparent in the blue party headquarters. The lack of cohesion, the personal agendas, and the internal power struggles within the party, all against the backdrop of the upcoming presidential election.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Goal and the Names
The President’s desire to appoint a certain figure— a “star” from the ranks of the Democratic Alarm—had been known for some time and was part of his strategy ahead of 2028, as this move:
– he would highlight the government’s social-liberal agenda,
– it broadens its audience within the party, and
– reinforces the narrative that he is a true son of DISY and that nothing separates him from the people of Synagermos.
Moreover, it was no coincidence that he mentioned in the interview he gave on Monday to ANT1 that he has never hidden his “Synergarmos” identity, of which he says he is proud. He added that he does not change his positions or betray his ideological principles, alluding pointedly to the stance taken by DISY leadership officials during the second round of the 2023 election.
The announcement of the names of Christos Angelidis and Tina Pavlou caused—as expected—an uproar in Pindarou, though for different reasons. The former hails from the party’s traditional core, with deep right-wing roots and a history in the circles of the ’55 activists. The second, through her surprise candidacy in the parliamentary elections and her presence in DISY’s shadow cabinet, was a personal gamble by Annita Dimitriou.
Denial and Confirmation
Before the rooster crowed, reports that Christos Angelides would take over the Deputy Ministry of Tourism were denied, with sources even suggesting that it was merely a test of his interest. If this is true—that is, if no official proposal was ever submitted to the Director General of PASYXE and his name was leaked—it raises ethical questions regarding the Office of the President.
In contrast to the Angelidis case, the scenario of Tina Pavlou becoming a minister—which circulated for three days—was not denied either by the Office of the President or by Pavlou herself. This fact reinforced the belief that Christodoulides’ proposal had been accepted.
A Setback After the “Victory”
The participation of DIKO members —as is said—of Tina Pavlou’s contributions to the Council for Monitoring Government Work earned Anita Dimitriou political capital in November 2024. The fact that the Clinical Director of Agia Skepi, who in 2023 reportedly supported Christodoulides’ candidacy from the first round, took over the DISY Social Welfare portfolio was seen as a personal success for the Synergistic Party President.
However, looking at the situation today, the fact that Nikos Christodoulides managed to secure a spot in the Shadow Cabinet has dealt a blow to the presidential profile that Anita Dimitriou is building ahead of 2028.
This is because the Council—under Michalis Ioannidis — is considered the backbone of the Synergistic President’s team, which will surround her from the very next day after she takes the reins of the state, if and when she is elected.
Karousos is the standard-bearer
The leak regarding the cabinet reshuffle marked a new cycle of tension in relations between the President and Pindaros. And while Anita chose to keep a low profile, contenting herself after last Monday’s National Council meeting with stating that “everyone is judged by their actions, and in politics, everyone is judged by the results,” Yiannis Karousos took on the role of standard-bearer.
From the very beginning, one of DISY’s vice presidents chose to engage in a head-on confrontation with the government, without the party having issued even the slightest statement beforehand. Launching a scathing attack against Nikos Christodoulides, he made references—among many other things—to betrayal and below-the-belt tactics.
Emptiness and Ambitions
The content—and especially the tone—of Karousos’s statements upset the Democratic Alarm. In fact, the issue was raised during last Monday’s morning meeting between the party leadership and its communications team.
According to unconfirmed reports from “Alpha on Sunday,” during the discussion, there was even consideration of issuing a statement in which the party would distance itself from the views publicly expressed by its Vice President. This came at a time when Karousos himself had requested public support from the Synergistic leadership.
However, the decision to “distance” Karousos was avoided, as such a move at this juncture would have created unnecessary turmoil from which only Nikos Christodoulides would have benefited.
The increasingly frequent public statements by the Alarm Party’s Vice President are causing intense discontent at Pindarou. During the election campaign, he had pledged to take the initiative to reinstate the celebrations marking the anniversary of the unification referendum, while just a few weeks ago, in an interview with Reporter, he warned that those pushing DISY toward more left-wing policies would find him standing against them.
Leaders of the Democratic Rally view Karousos’s “outreach” Karousos’s “outreach” as part of his broader effort to cultivate the profile that will allow him, in the future, to vie for a higher position in the party’s leadership hierarchy. Whether that position is Deputy Chairman or even Chairman.
Alarmed officials, speaking to “Alpha on Sunday,” accuse Yiannis Karousos of inconsistency in his statements, referring to the period between the first and second rounds. At that time, the DISY Vice President, while advocating for a vote according to one’s conscience, described Andreas Mavroyiannis as “an honest and upright man, a right-winger.” A remark that many interpreted as an indirect push for Synergatiki voters to support the candidate backed by AKEL.
“Ippos” Tornaritis
While the leadership of the Democratic Alarm Party is officially drawing a hard line against the President’s Office, Nikos Tornaritis appears to have taken on the role of mediator between Pindaros and Nikos Christodoulides.
In a post on X, lawyer Christodoulos Papachrysostomou “exposed” the former DISY Parliamentary Spokesperson, claiming that while he was in the Athens airport lounge, he was openly conversing with the President’s Office, accusing Karousos, Averof, and Anita. At the same time, he reportedly even proposed a DISY member for appointment to a deputy ministerial post, citing as the person’s main qualification that “he will bring in votes in the upcoming presidential election”.
The fact that Papachrysostomou’s allegations were never refuted by Nikos Tornaritis reinforces the belief in alarmist circles that the party’s former third-ranking official, is acting, to a greater or lesser extent, as Nikos Christodoulides’ Trojan Horse within DISY—even dating back to the 2023 election campaign.
His reference in “25 Minutes” to feeling 100% vindicated by Christodoulides’ support in 2023, his statement to *Reporter* that even the incumbent President cannot be ruled out from DISY’s plans for ’28, as well as his characterization of the decision to vote against extending Raouna’s term as a mistake, paint a picture of a Synagermikos figure cut off from the party, now closer to the Presidency.
Opposition, but not… AKEL
On last Monday’s episode of “Alpha Summer,” Yiannis Karousos argued that the Democratic Alarm should change the way it conducts opposition. And he warned President Christodoulides that the state budget would not be passed without a vote by DISY.
From the upper echelons of Pindarou, it is made clear that the views expressed by the party’s Vice President are purely personal. “We are and will remain a constructive opposition; we are not going to become a carbon copy of AKEL, rejecting and voting against everything,” a reliable Synergatiki source told “Alpha on Sunday.”
DISY understands that adopting a confrontational and accusatory opposition rhetoric, especially in Parliament, will backfire on the party.
Voting against bills—let alone the budget—would be a contradiction in the party’s own logic, as this has long been its main argument against DIKO, following its rejection of the 2021 budget, which left the state without a budget.
Pindarou’s Gamble
Last Tuesday’s cabinet reshuffle turned out to be less significant than the commotion caused by the leaks leading up to it. Given that Tina Pavlou was never a DISY official, Christodoulides’ attempt to pull off a high-profile poach from the Democratic Alarm party failed.
The real challenge for the Democratic Alarm now is to present a unified strategy and a clear political stance, free from personal agendas and ambitions.
As long as this is not achieved, the question that will remain is not only whether it will be able to lead the country, but also whether it will be able to remain a leading force in the center-right.
The fact that the allegations against Tornaritis and Nikos Christodoulidis’s handling of the outreach to party officials were not even touched upon at last Monday’s Political Bureau meeting, is evidence of a party in disarray.
As long as this confusion persists—combined with the looming internal strife ahead of the 2028 presidential nomination—the only winner will be Nikos Christodoulides.
