– It was a bubble, and it burst—and so did Trump
– “Maki, hurry up—maybe we can make it in time”
– A total upset if AKEL pulls it off
– MOE, roadblocks, and ELAM lurking in the background
Good morning, everyone. I’ll admit that this week finds us in a much better mood and with greater optimism. It’s no small thing to see the bubble of arrogance and provocation deflate overnight. For Trump, of course, this is the reason he came crashing down so abruptly—and at his age, he’s not going to bounce back.
• He is, however, remarkable in the world of contradictions in which he lives. Throughout the campaign, he urged voters to “imagine that his name is on the ballot” and to vote for him. That’s how delusional he is. As soon as he took a beating, all he could come up with was that “the Republicans lost because his name wasn’t on the ballot.” It never crossed his mind that voters probably imagined his name was on the ballot and that’s why they rejected him.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
New momentum in the Cyprus issue
Arrogance in Politics
• What does Trump’s party look like right now? Like a sinking ship from which the rats are the first to jump. The U.S. President’s beloved vice president, J.D. Vance, was the first to set the tone with a scathing post just a few hours after the electoral tragedy. And as it appears, the next to make a move will be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is preparing to leave the State Department and throw his hat into the ring for the 2028 nomination. But never mind that. The day after the big fiasco, Trump invited reporters to the White House to show them the beams where the chandeliers will be hung in the reception hall he’s having built there. The man is literally out of touch with reality.
• That news story linking Cyprus to the U.S. election was pretty funny, though. How so? Republican candidate Ken Paxton announced in a post that his next speech would take place in… Cyprus! He meant to write “Cypress,” but—as it turns out—autocorrect sent him to our island. As things turned out, though, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to consider a little trip our way to unwind.
• We’re leaving the United States and returning to Cyprus. The President convened a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday as the results were coming in, along with analyses of Trump’s electoral defeat, which was attributed primarily to the accuracy of the vote count. A cold sweat broke out on Nicos Christodoulides’ brow, and he gave Maki Keravnos the following instruction: “You’re going to go out and say that we’re studying new measures to support citizens and fighting hard in Europe for further tax cuts!” And so it came to pass. Makis went out and spoke with such fervor about the measures he was preparing and the battles he was getting ready to fight in Brussels that not even he believed his own words. And there wasn’t a single Cabinet decision to justify Keravnos’s appearance…
• Well, get ready. As I’ve heard, Alpha is feverishly preparing to present the major poll it conducted—in two waves, no less—to cover all the rapid developments within the party. My sources tell me that we’ll get a picture of both the internal party race within DISY and the outcomes of a series of scenarios for the first and second rounds of the presidential election. And let’s face it, the RAI seal of approval has proven to be a guarantee in all previous elections.
• I have news from the AKEL camp. The party is in talks with a figure who, if he ultimately says “yes,” will turn the campaign—and the election itself—on its head. This is a new, well-known figure whose greatest asset is his ability to crack down on corruption. The consultations have intensified recently, but so far, there has been no positive response from him.
• Let me share one more piece of information with you. The presidential office, which is obviously aware of the background, has offered this individual various high-level positions. On the one hand, because it recognizes his worth, and on the other, to perhaps get him out of the way. For now, we’ll leave it at that with a word of encouragement: Stefanos… the ball is in your court!
• In the DISY camp, things remain the same. Anita Dimitriou made an admittedly commanding appearance in Kenevezou, but the wounds do not seem to be healing. On the other hand, Averof swept through the “Giorgides” of Cyprus, wishing them a happy St. George’s Day last week. I hear that his opponent, Giorgos Pamporidis, also received a message.
• I told you that this week would be more about the Cyprus issue than about DISY. Olgin seems to have cornered the two of them, and barring any surprises, she’ll announce some kind of agreement on confidence-building measures. The President is caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, his narrative of tireless efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue will gain some substance, on the other hand, the roadblocks and the CBMs are a red flag for his potential allies in ELAM. Let’s see how he handles all of this.
• Public relations games sometimes become so ridiculous that they produce exactly the opposite results. No, this time I’m not referring to our own people. I’m referring to Greece’s Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, who, in order to promote the purchase of tanker aircraft for in-flight refueling, made the astonishing claim that “if we’d had these planes in ’74, the invasion of Cyprus wouldn’t have happened.” In other words, neither the junta was to blame, nor the American green light. The problem was technical…
• Now that the Greek NAVTEX has been issued for the Greece-Cyprus power interconnection cable, we’ll see how resolute Greece’s stance will be in the face of possible extreme reactions from Turkey. Although it seems to me that a lot of behind-the-scenes work has been done recently, and Turkey will present the briefing from the French as recognition of its rights in the region.
Let’s have a good Sunday, and let’s hope this week (following the positive developments of the previous one) brings some positive developments for us here in Cyprus as well. At the very least, let’s break out of the stagnation of recent years.
