The withdrawal of Annita Dimitriou’s candidacy, the meetings, and the role played by the polls
Any member of the DISY leadership who claims that Anita Dimitriou’s withdrawal from the presidential race came as a bolt from the blue is not telling the truth. At Pindarou, it was an open secret that the party president had been gauging, in recent days, the reactions of those who had come into the public eye, the implications of a DISY split into three factions, and her own future.
Her close associates admitted that she was distant, pensive, and spent a lot of time alone in her office. Undoubtedly, she did not project the image of a leader at the helm of the largest political party in Cyprus—one who has long been poised to vie for the party’s nomination, and subsequently the Presidency of the Republic.
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Consequently, the possibility of her withdrawing from the internal party race was on the table from the outset, with some expecting an announcement shortly thereafter. So what happened that Thursday afternoon?
The Crucial Meeting
From the morning session of the Executive Bureau, it began to become clear that the day would bring rapid developments. What would shape these developments was Anita’s intention to meet with Averof Neophytou and Giorgos Pamporidis to set the record straight.
She wanted to meet with Averof Neophytou separately—given the intense rumors of a bid outside party procedures—and with the Nicosia MP about an hour later.
Via text message
As “Alpha on Sunday” has learned, Anita Dimitriou texted Giorgos Pamboridis asking him to come to the party headquarters, informing him of her thoughts about withdrawing, the difficult days that had preceded this, as well as her intention to meet with Averof Neophytou first.
When Giorgos Pamporidis went up to the fifth floor of the Pindarou building, he also saw Frixos Koulermos in the room. The publisher of “Alithia” is a key figure at the OMEGA television station, as his grandson, Ioannis Hasikos, is the channel’s executive director and a longtime DISY official.
Hints and percentages
When Giorgos Pamporidis sat down at the table, with Annita Dimitriou across from him, she informed him that she was withdrawing her candidacy to preserve unity.
According to the DISY MP, Frixos Koulermos, she asked him to withdraw from the race as well, so as not to divide the party, which he cared deeply about as a longtime party leader.
Sources at “Alpha tis Kyriakis” state that Pamporidis replied that he was running for his own reasons, and that he knew that if the other two ran, he would not receive more than 10 percent of the vote. Frixos Koulermos replied that his share would not exceed 5 percent, adding the characteristic phrase, “Step back and don’t come out.” Pamporidis replied that he would not withdraw, and Koulermos pointed out to him that the rebels had no political future.
Undoubtedly, the surprise appearance of the publisher of Alithia at such a critical meeting was something no one had expected. Especially since it had been preceded by a major public debate directed at Annita Dimitriou regarding the presence and role of businessman and publisher of the newspaper “Politis,” Chris Panayiotou, at the infamous dinner at the fish tavern. And, of course, the talk of informal agreements regarding who would assume the Speakership of the House of Representatives and who would be nominated for the Presidency of the Republic.
The repercussions of the whole issue and the references to a “guardian,” however, led Frixos Kouloumos to issue clarifications. Speaking out against the slander surrounding allegations of pressure and threats directed at Annita Dimitriou and Giorgos Pamporidis, he explained that he went to the party headquarters at the invitation of Anita Dimitriou herself. He emphasized that he was not invited as a publisher or TV station owner but as “one of the people who built the Democratic Alarm.”
PRESSING on Anita and opinion polls
The word is that everything was decided during that one-hour meeting between the DISY President, Averof Neophytou, and Frixos Koulermos.According to information from “Alpha on Sunday,” various facts were presented to Anita Dimitriou during the meeting.
As for the political aspects, Averof Neophytou and Frixos Koulermos painted a picture suggesting that the former DISY President would be anything but a sure loser in a contest against Anita Dimitriou. They suggested that if she were to lose the internal party battle, her leadership within the party would also be called into question. It is worth noting that, according to the party’s bylaws, if the DISY president loses the battle for the nomination, internal party elections must be called.
To assess the momentum behind Averof’s candidacy, data from three polls were presented. One was conducted by IMR, the second came from Averof’s inner circle, while the third was a rolling poll conducted by a DISY official. All three, as they pointed out, indicated a neck-and-neck race.
Of course, there is also suspicion that non-political factors were brought into the discussion, with Giorgos Pamboridis speaking of a coordinated undermining effort, involving backstabbing and whispering. He links this, however, to the references to very close associates and the infamous dinner at the fish tavern.
Anita Dimitriou herself, however, denies that there was any pressure and emphasizes that it was entirely her own decision.
On Unity
The paradox is that while all this has taken place in the name of party unity, one would be hard-pressed to find a Synergismos voter who feels good about the events unfolding these days.
People who are reasonably wondering: Why was it the DISY President who withdrew her candidacy, and not the other two? Wouldn’t that have been a sign of unity? There are others who wonder whether, when Anita announced her candidacy immediately after Averof Neophytou, she wasn’t thinking about unity at the time.
Why did she decide to step down in just one week? The problem for DISY is that difficult times still lie ahead. The internal strife will take time to subside (if it ever does), and undoubtedly, what has happened is causing at least some discomfort among certain people.
The worst part, however, is the message that Pindarou is sending to society as a whole right now. For while a split in the party may have been avoided for now, an image is taking root of intense conflicts, frenzied backroom dealings in which non-party members have the final say in negotiations, and where personal agendas are the sole guiding principle.
