By Martin Hellicar
INTERIOR Minister Dinos Michaelides yesterday asked for an audience before the House plenum to defend himself against persistent corruption allegations.
Michaelides, vexed by accusations levelled against him by House watchdog committee chairman Christos Pourgourides, put his unusual request to House president Spyros Kyprianou yesterday.
Kyprianou did not, publicly at least, commit himself either way on the minister’s request, but promised he would bring the matter up at the weekly party leaders’ meeting ahead of today’s plenum.
Such a ministerial address to the plenum would have to be approved as constitutional by Attorney-general Alecos Markides.
Michaelides and Kyprianou have been arch political rivals ever since the minister’s acrimonious departure from Kyprianou’s Diko party late last year. But Michaelides’ anger at the persistence of Pourgourides’ attacks led him to swallow his pride and seek Kyprianou’s help.
In brief comments afterwards, Kyprianou described his meeting with Michaelides, which lasted more than an hour, as “friendly”. Michaelides repeated that Pourgourides’ 14 corruption allegations were nothing but hot air.
“This issue should have been closed long ago,” he said.
Cabinet-appointed criminal investigators cleared Michaelides of any wrongdoing after a probe late last year.
Disy deputy Pourgourides labelled the probe a sham and declined to testify before the investigators – Law Commissioner George Stavrinakis and Andreas Shiakas of the Auditor-general’s office.
“Mr Pourgourides had the chance to testify before the investigators about what he was alleging. He opted not to do this because he judged he could only appear before the investigators for coffee,” Michaelides said yesterday.
The corruption allegations remain the mainstay of the House watchdog committee’s agenda despite the state investigators’ conclusions.
“The issue is over because the whole procedure reached a conclusion,” Michaelides said. “Despite this, the issue is still troubling the watchdog committee, the plenum, public opinion and me and my family,” he added.
The accusations investigated by Stavrinakis and Shiakas concerned alleged abuse of power at the immigration department and alleged unlawful enrichment through the sale of apartments.
Michaelides tendered his resignation after the two investigators were appointed, but President Clerides chose not to accept it.
Media speculation has suggested Michaelides is due to lose his ministerial post in a rumoured reshuffle after his poor showing in recent opinion polls.
