• Anastasiades’ most invalid response

• An ALMA that seems to have vanished

• Rice, resignation, and our own standards

• Andros and Tassos, 22 years later

• Pheidias: The “grand experiment” that will save him

Have a good day, and hang in there as the temperatures start to bite. Come to think of it, we’ve gotten off pretty easy so far when you consider what they’re going through in Europe. God must have taken pity on us when He saw our political thermometer hit the red zone.

• So Nikos Anastasiadis spoke as well. And the way he went about it, almost no one understood a thing. Because, my former colleague, this wasn’t a one-hour courtroom speech that people were waiting to hear. The equation was simple: Makarios Drousiotis accused me of 50 things; the findings identified seven (which aren’t included in Drousiotis’s book); let me address them one by one. Briefly, concisely, and without the tone of someone who feels wronged. From what I’ve heard, however, Nikos Anastasiadis took it upon himself to prepare his “defense” and didn’t listen to any of his associates.

• Where the former minister really lost it, though, was regarding how many and which trips he took on private jets owned by foreign oligarchs—Ribolovlev, Lebedev, a Saudi… Mr. Anastasiadis tried to mumble something, only to end up with the imaginative argument, “Well, I saved the state some money.” No, Mr. President, that is, both politically and legally, the most invalid response you could possibly give. Because the crux of the matter is this: Why would a wealthy foreigner so readily provide his private jet for the travels of a head of state? Because, as we’ve said, Savvidis is your friend—but not every billionaire who has found refuge in Cyprus for his own personal affairs.

• In some parts of his statement, Mr. Anastasiades responded adequately. One issue, however, will always haunt him: the law firm that bears his name and in which his daughters are major shareholders. This firm cannot be “accused” of possible tax evasion and money laundering (extremely serious charges) while Mr. Anastasiades insists that “he had no connection to the firm”. In other words, if something is proven in court tomorrow, will he feel comfortable knowing that it is not he himself but his associates—and perhaps his daughters—who will be in the dock?

• Seriously, do we even have a Legal Service in this country? The Attorney General and his Deputy recused themselves from this case. They passed the buck to the Prosecutors’ Council, which in turn kicked it to the Cabinet and the police. Is there anyone left in that building who can handle such serious cases? This is a true collapse of institutions. And, in fact, from within. In any case, the situation is also putting Nikos Christodoulides in a difficult position. He had intended to appoint Konstantinos Kompos as Attorney General (who would have been a good choice), but given the current situation, he’d be making a huge mistake if he followed his predecessor’s example and appointed one of his own ministers again.

• Hey guys, what happened to that ALMA campaign against corruption and for transparency? They even stayed away from the protest rally at the Attorney General’s Office organized by AKEL and Volt. It seems the election’s rocky outcome hit them really hard, and they’ll need time to recover.

• Let’s change the subject and turn briefly to the Cyprus issue, where it seems a lot is happening behind the scenes. And we hope that this time our leadership will rise to the occasion. Let’s not find out 22 years later—as Andros Kyprianou has now rightly pointed out—what went wrong in 2004. Speaking about his book, the former Secretary-General of AKEL told us that “Tassos Papadopoulos did not negotiate the Annan Plan adequately; in Lucerne he didn’t negotiate at all, even though we could have had a better plan; he miscalculated regarding Denktash and demonized the opposing view in the referendum”. Better late than never.

• The most interesting reference, however, was the one Andros Kyprianou made to Kostis Hatzikostis’s book *6 Portraits*. Andros stated: “For me, Kostis Hatzikostis’s account was very noteworthy. He had told me about it back in 2007 when I met with him at the time regarding his 2008 presidential campaign. Namely, that Tassos Papadopoulos had called him before leaving for New York in January 2004 and asked him to bring Loukis Papafilippou of ANTENNA to a subsequent meeting. At their second meeting, he asked them to promote the “NO” vote among the people. In other words, Tassos Papadopoulos had already made up his mind. Unfortunately, he wasn’t telling us the truth. These two groups began promoting a “NO” vote before we even had the final result.” Better late than never… Although, as was rightly said, “the bird has flown.”

• We must admit that, for the time being, Nikos Christodoulides is handling things well. He appears to be taking full advantage of the international situation, Turkey’s needs, and the networks of individuals who can play a catalytic role. And, at the same time, he is managing to secure support as well as mild reactions from those who disagree with the framework for a solution. The best part is that he called on the political leaders not to book vacations and to stay on standby for the informal meeting in late July–early August.

• But don’t tell me that Fidias Panagiotou is going on this trip to make little videos too! The man went to the National Council and publicly stated that “Direct Democracy does not (yet) have a position on the Cyprus issue.” Take it easy, Fidias. There’s no need to rush. After all, just imagine: the problem you don’t have a position on is twice your age.

• In any case, the Pheidias phenomenon is taking on tragicomic proportions. Together with his wife Styliana, they’re publicizing every step of their lavish honeymoon—the dresses, the sunglasses, and allshopping they do—and the icing on the cake came with a video from Pheidias himself, inviting any interested police officers to send him their résumés for the political guard that, as its leader, party leader, he is entitled to. No one expected such anti-establishment behavior, guys (as he himself says). If Pheidias doesn’t eventually come out and say that everything he’s done—and is still doing—was nothing more than a grand experiment to prove how easily people can be led astray by a clown (a role he himself played), then we’re talking about a very serious problem. His own.

• I’ll conclude today with a few examples of political sensitivity documented in other countries, which demonstrate just how far we collectively are from the necessary political culture.

• United Kingdom: Chris Huhne, Minister of Energy, resigned in 2012 when it was revealed that he had attempted to transfer penalty points from a speeding ticket to his wife, an offense for which he was ultimately convicted.

• Sweden: Mona Sahlin, who later became leader of the Social Democrats, resigned from her position as Deputy Prime Minister in 1995 when it was revealed that she had used a government credit card for personal purchases (including chocolate and groceries) worth approximately $450, which she did, however, pay off immediately.

• Japan: Agriculture Minister Taku Eto resigned in 2019 after admitting at a rally that “he had never had to buy rice,” as his supporters provided it to him for free—a fact that was interpreted as a moral conflict of interest.

• Austria: The country’s finance minister resigned immediately in the 1990s when it became known that he had taken a small item (a pack of candy) from an airport store without paying for it.

Have a good Sunday. Come on, let’s slowly come to terms with the “Mafia State” because a third report is on the way. The one concerning the well-known Videogate scandal. Let’s see what this one says, too, and who—and how many—will accept it. Because in this country, everyone takes whatever suits them best.