Citing the examples of Glafkos Clerides and Stavros Malas, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letympiotis responds to criticism regarding the appointment of Nikos Tornaritis as Special Political Representative of the President of the Republic for the Cyprus Issue in Asia and Africa, from the studio of the Alpha Kalimera program, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letympiotis also responds to statements by Annita Dimitriou and Yiannis Karousos.
When asked about the role and duties of the President of the Republic’s new Special Political Representative for the Cyprus Issue in Asia and Africa, he states that this is a person with a long political career. “Mr. Tornaritis does not know—nor will he come to know—Asia and Africa now,” he adds.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Read also: Christodoulides’ first reaction to Tornaritis: “It serves absolutely no pre-election purpose”
Responding to a question about whether he will travel, he states that he will, as part of his diplomatic engagements, always in coordination with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, particularly to those two continents.
“Unfortunately for some, however, what is written remains, and there are conflicting views. I will say, however, that some of those who highlighted the importance of these two continents and the Republic of Cyprus’s presence there—and called for us to expand that presence— are the very same people who today are criticizing—or, if you will, attempting to undermine—a practice that, incidentally, is not being implemented for the first time. Because, you know, it is not an unprecedented practice to appoint a personal envoy of the President of the Republic. It has been done in almost every administration by almost every President of the Republic for ad hoc issues, let alone for the national question.”
When asked to comment on the fact that he is third in line within the Democratic Alarm party and whether he had anticipated the reactions, he stated:
“It didn’t matter what I expected or didn’t expect. What matters is precisely that we begin to clarify the reasons why this is happening. You’ve made a very important point. It’s because it’s Mr. Tornaritis. If anyone disagrees that Mr. Tornaritis lacks experience or that Mr. Tornaritis does not have a track record that can be demonstrated through the network he has built during his long parliamentary, let them say so clearly.”
Responding to a question about whether this is an election-year ploy within the “camp” of the Democratic Alarm, he expresses the view that society cannot be judged when it devalues political debate by adopting bellicose rhetoric, with references to “camps”.
“I think it’s a bit paradoxical—or problematic, if you will—for the exercise of executive power, whatever the current executive branch may be, for every move made, every action taken by the executive branch to be considered pre-election campaigning simply because the next election is coming up. By that logic, then, we should not have a government; the government should not take any action or make any move, because any move the government makes will be considered pre-election activity.”
He adds that it is not institutionally sound to regard any individual as political property or to impose imaginary restrictions on individuals.
“In fact, neither Mr. Tornaritis nor anyone else has been asked to renounce his political identity, his political trajectory, his party affiliation, or his party stance.”
And he refers to the policies of Glafkos Clerides.
“I remind you that the late Glafkos Clerides had appointed his opponent in the presidential election. I remind you that the ministers in Glafkos Clerides’s DIKO-led coalition government had chosen to stand alongside President Clerides at the time and had remained in the Democratic Rally coalition government—without, of course, having any understanding of why exactly such appointments were made.”
He then turned the discussion to the present and the appointment of Stavros Malas as head of the special scientific committee for the restructuring and upgrading of the livestock sector.
“Precisely because the abilities, qualifications, experience, and added value of individuals should not be limited or defined solely by their party affiliation—at least that is our approach. If anyone disagrees, they can say so. Most recently, Mr. Malas. Mr. Malas has proven himself and done an excellent job, and I don’t think anyone can claim… Mr. Malas served as a minister in an AKEL government. He was AKEL’s candidate in the presidential elections twice. And in this case, regarding a very important issue—not just for the government, but for the country, the primary sector, and of course, the Cyprus issue is even more important. Of course, Mr. Malas cooperated and was put to good use.”
Read also: “Petty politics, erratic moves, and appointments”: Annita’s barbs at Christodoulides against the backdrop of Tornaritis and the Cyprus issue
When asked to comment on Annita Dimitriou’s statement—in which she said we must focus and leave behind petty politics, erratic moves, and appointments, he does not consider this to be a jab at the President of the Republic.
“Since Ms. Dimitriou is here, you can ask her. She may mean that there will be no further appointments to the Democratic Alarm’s Secretariat for Political Planning. She may be suggesting that these announcements are on hold. I can’t—I won’t interpret that. But I agree completely. Because I think what she’s saying is absolutely right.”
Regarding “haphazard moves,” he states that a move approved by the Cabinet cannot be haphazard.
“A hasty move. You don’t prepare a proposal to be submitted to the Cabinet, approved by the Cabinet, and implemented as part of a plan spanning two continents—if you look at our actions in recent periods, I think you’ll be able to understand something.”
“I think anyone who looks at the President of the Republic’s schedule—fortunately, it’s posted and announced daily—knows what the President of the Republic is doing,” he adds.
“I don’t think anyone would claim that—and I’m not saying that Ms. Dimitriou is doing this. I am simply saying, in general, that it is not the President of the Republic’s highest priority—or his sole priority—compared to everything else. And I would add—and I’ll give her credit for this, at least in my own view and that of all the political forces in the country—the Cyprus issue.”
Read also: “At least he’s not hiding it”: Karousos predicts more Tornaritis-style appointments
When asked to comment on Yiannis Karousos’s allegations regarding DISY officials who are at the Presidential Palace in the morning and at Pindarou Street by noon, and when asked if this was true, Mr. Letympiotis stated that he did not know what Mr. Karousos was referring to.
“I maintain friendly relations with members and officials of the Democratic Rally. We don’t have any specific people—I don’t recall, and I don’t know who he’s referring to. But I can assure you that we meet with a great many people every day. And when we meet with these people, when we meet them—always, of course, either in the course of our institutional duties or at social gatherings—we do not ask them about their party affiliation when we meet. Nor do they wear any distinctive markings so that we can tell which political party they belong to or how they voted in the most recent parliamentary, European, municipal, or presidential elections.”
“We approach every person as an individual in their own right—as someone who has something to offer, something to contribute, something to challenge, and something to evaluate,” he adds.
“But I’ll tell you, in all honesty—and I think this is necessary—that we can no longer speak in general and absolute terms. I say that as a government, we are tasked—and this must be understood— a period in which we are preparing the new state budget—which was approved last week by the Cabinet—and heading to New York, we have a responsibility—and this is the daily concern of the President of the Republic—to implement the governance program.”
