Papadopoulos warns Christodoulides over ‘unfortunate’ statement on video

Diko leader Nicholas Papadopoulos on Tuesday warned President Nikos Christodoulides over what he described as “unfortunate” references to Cyprus’ political parties in statements he made after his chief of staff resigned following the publication of a video which alleged campaign finance lawbreaking on the partof him and his close associates.

“If the president’s comments also concerned Diko, we consider them to be unfortunate, as far as our own party is concerned. From the first moment that this particular video was published, Diko avoided making statements or taking positions. We gave the president time to react and manage this issue,” he said, according to news website Reporter.

He added that his party had “taken the initiative” and met Christodoulides “to receive explanations, but also to make specific suggestions for the management of this issue”, and that thereafter, “it is our own positions which were ultimately adopted”.

“Our first public positions were only taken yesterday after the resignation of the president’s chief of staff, so we do not see it that our party identifies with positions which may have been made by opposition parties, which were more critical of the president,” he said.

However, he said, “it would be unreasonable to not expect any of us to comment on an issue which concerns public opinion more broadly”, and one which “has provoked various reactions”.

“Our view is that the statements insinuating that all parties are the same … is unfair to our own party. It sends a message of discredit to the entire political system and therefore, that is why I said earlier that with regard to Diko, we believe that these statements were unfair,” he said.

As such, he said that if Christodoulides was not referring to Diko in his statements, “this is something that he must clarify himself”.

He was then asked whether he is considering withdrawing its support for the government, with Diko having initially supported and then withdrawn its support for governments led by three of Cyprus’ last four presidents prior to Christodoulides.

Since 1993, only Papadopoulos’ father Tassos Papadopoulos has served as president without at some point during his term having lost the support of Diko.

Four members of Christodoulides’ cabinet – Finance Minister Makis Keravnos, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas, Energy Minister Michael Damianos, and Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides – are members of the party.

“We are also concerned about what we have seen, but also about the degree of our cooperation with the president, which is not desirable. No executive suggested leaving the government, and such decisions would not be made in a state of emotional turmoil,” Papadopoulos said on Tuesday.

He added that in his previous conversations with Christodoulides about the matter, he had given him until Monday to organise that his chief of staff resign, that First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides resign from her position as the chief of the social support body, that Christodoulides state his intention to abolish the body, and that a police investigation be launched.

“From there on, there is a climate of doubt, disappointment, which must be addressed with additional initiatives related to the suppression of all phenomena of collusion and corruption. We must restore trust in the institutions and in the very institution of the presidency of the republic. We are ready to discuss this in every way,” he said.

To this end, he called on Christodoulides to publicise the list of donors to the social support body, and said that while this should not be done in a way which violates laws on privacy, “there is a way to provide the information to the competent authorities and conduct the necessary investigation”.

“At a minimum, the information must be given to the competent authorities, but also to the public in a way which does not violate the relevant laws. If there is good will and willingness, we believe that it can be done,” he said.

The statements which had irked Papadopoulos had been made on Monday following the resignation of Christodoulides’ chief of staff Charalambos Charalambous.

He had said that “my message to the political parties is that I am very afraid that the reaction to this situation, the results of the reaction that we see, we will see, and I say we will see, not that they will see, but we will all see”.

“I am very afraid, over the results of the parliamentary elections that we will have in a few months,” he said, before adding that while he has “absolute respect” for Cyprus’ political parties, and that they are “free to do whatever they want”, he and his government are “accountable to the Cypriot people”.

Charalambous had resigned after being implicated in the video alongside former minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, with both appearing to offer access to Christodoulides in exchange for cash and appearing to promote ways to circumvent laws regarding election campaign financing.

He nonetheless maintained his innocence when announcing his resignation, saying that “in recent days, a targeted effort has been underway to personally harm the president of the republic, to question the government, and to damage the image of our homeland”.

“My own participation, through deliberate distortions, selective excerpts, and references in a different context, guided people to misleading conclusions, is being exploited, without the intention of a sober reading of the real information, which will be extracted from legal procedures, in a way which undermines not only individuals, but also the very trust with which we must protect institutions,” he said.