A chronology of yesterday’s contacts and meetings involving DISY President Annita Dimitriou, which led to her decision to withdraw her candidacy for the party’s nomination for the 2028 presidential election, was revealed on the Alpha Enimerosi program by party MP Giorgos Pamporidis.
Events began to “unfold” early in the morning when Ms. Dimitriou summoned Mr. Pamporidis to her office in Parliament and announced her intention not to participate in the internal party process. As he himself admits, he tried to change her mind, but she seemed determined from the start. She asked him to be at Pindarou Street at 3:00 p.m. because a meeting with Averof Neophytou had already been scheduled, and that afterward she would like to see both of them on the 5th floor.
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“I’m very close to making my final decisions,” she told me, “and I want you to come to my office at 3:00 p.m. I understood that these were her intentions, and I wanted to encourage her to reconsider.”
When Mr. Pamporidis arrived at DISY’s headquarters, the meeting between Annita and Averof was already underway in the presence of the publisher of the newspaper “Alithia,” Frixos Koulermos.
“Alithia’s position is clear: it supports Averof Neophytou all the way.”
According to Mr. Pamborides, the DISY President initially asked the two if they saw any way to “break” the deadlock that prevailed within the party.
“I had publicly stated my intention to step down if Mr. Neophytou also stepped down; for the President’s sake, this issue wasn’t even raised and wasn’t on the table. The President, realizing that there was no other option, announced to us that, under the circumstances and to prevent the party from being led into further dead ends that could even jeopardize the party’s very existence, she intended to withdraw her candidacy herself. She then asked us, saying that it would be desirable to proceed with a single candidate if someone were willing to step aside. Mr. Averoff said that wouldn’t happen, and I replied that my candidacy would stand until the end, and the meeting concluded.”
Ms. Dimitriou then asked the two to wait until she had drafted a statement, so that all three could go down to the ground floor and she could read it to the reporters.
(Q: Was Mr. Koulermos present during all of this?) “Yes.” (Q: So the three of you were never alone?) “No.” (Q: Was the question directed at both of them? Wasn’t it you, Giorgos, who withdrew it?) “No, the question was directed at both of us.”
When asked whether there had been any interference either from Frixos Koulermos, who was present, or from another Pindarou executive, Mr. Pamporidis maintained that when he and Averof Neophytou left the office of the party chairwoman, Mr. Koulermos advised him “to give up on the effort.”
“The Chairwoman acknowledged that what was preventing Mr. Neophytou from participating in the internal party procedures was her own candidacy, and by withdrawing it, she asked him to confirm his participation in the internal party process, and that is what happened.”
Mr. Pamporidis acknowledged that there was no further discussion between him and Mr. Neophytou pending the release of the announcement, as the issues regarding respect for the process and the outcome of the internal party elections were raised by Ms. Dimitriou.
“She explained that it is important to maintain party unity and that she will remain the guarantor of that unity; she asked us to conduct a dignified and civilized election campaign, so as not to further upset the DISY base, noting that the atmosphere is already very tense. I also confirmed that it is up to us to foster a healing process rather than a divisive one.”
Mr. Pamporidis explained that the meeting lasted just fifteen minutes, from 3:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Ms. Dimitriou then wished to inform a number of DISY officials of her decision, which is why the relevant statement was issued at 5:00 p.m.
“Mr. Neophytou and I spoke at length about various issues. I had my phone calls; he had his own conversations.”
When asked whether his post questioning Ms. Dimitriou—stating that “few politicians” had faced such a coordinated campaign of undermining through slander and rumors—also applied to him, George Pamporidis replied that throughout his political career he has never engaged in personal attacks or rivalries with any political opponent, no matter how fierce the political battles I have faced.
“I have made political comments countless times. Engaging in politics through political arguments is the very essence of politics.”
Mr. Pamporidis spoke of a deliberately leaked rumor that he would ultimately withdraw from the process and made it clear that “Pamporidis will not withdraw from the process.”
“I had proposed my own withdrawal so that the President could run unopposed. There was no response to my proposal. I am not going to withdraw my candidacy. I will remain a candidate until the end.”
