President ‘wouldn’t dare’ appoint Stelios Platis as auditor-general
Economist Stelios Platis was the forerunner for the new auditor-general post that Diko MP Zacharias Koulias had planned to appoint this week, when he would have free rein as acting President of the Republic, it emerged on Monday.
Koulias’ plans were eventually scuppered by House President Annita Demetriou, however Platis confirmed to numerous media outlets that he accepted the offer – though he knew it would never actually happen.
“There was never a chance the establishment would let Koulias do anything of the sort,” Platis told Cyprus Times.
Nonetheless, if there was a way, he would gladly take on the role “and expose as much as I could, so people could pay for what they did to Cyprus’ economy and society.”
Asked if he puts himself in the running for the auditor-general post, Platis said “I do not consider President Nikos Christodoulides, or the people around him, would dare propose a similar appointment.”
Koulias prompted upset over the weekend which continued through to Monday, when he declared that he would appoint an auditor-general of his choosing, after Odysseas Michaelides was fired from the post last week.
The appointment would come on Wednesday, when both President Nikos Christodoulides and Demetriou would be out of the country, leaving Koulias as the oldest member of parliament to take on the role as acting President.
He stated it was not a bluff and he would absolutely act on his decision, with the government at pains to try and avert the situation.
Eventually Demetriou announced she would not be travelling to Malta and therefore would stay on, thus preventing Koulias’ possibility of replacing Michaelides with a man of his choosing.