Kyprianou ponders his future

HEART problems are forcing veteran Diko leader Spyros Kyprianou to ponder his future as party leader.

Acting Diko chairman Nicos Cleanthous yesterday said 68-year-old Kyprianou would announce his decision about his political future at next month’s party electoral conference.

"He is thinking things over," Cleanthous said, adding that Kyprianou had not arrived at a final decision yet.

Kyprianou, who is currently House president, has only recently returned from London where he last month underwent emergency surgery to rewire his sternum following earlier open-heart surgery in Ohio.

Cleanthous said Kyprianou was busy talking over his political future with his close associates. But Cleanthous said the final decision would be Kyprianou’s alone: "He himself must think things over, he himself must take his own decision."

A decision to retire from politics would bring to a close a glittering political career for Kyprianou. The country’s longest-serving President after Archbishop Makarios, Kyprianou and his outspoken views have been an integral part of the local political scene for decades.

But the popularity of his party has suffered in recent years and there have been calls from within Diko for a new man at the helm. Kyprianou has always clung to the party leadership but observers now believe he could, in view of his recent health problems, be ready to stand down.

Reports suggest Kyprianou is keen to see his son, Diko deputy Marcos Kyprianou, succeed him as party leader.

Another man being mentioned as possible next Diko leader is party parliamentary spokesman Tassos Papadopoulos.

Cleanthous yesterday suggested debate about who might succeed Kyprianou was good for the party.

"It is no bad thing. To discuss possibilities that may seem logical to the whole party and the public at large is not negative (for the party) it can even be positive," the acting Diko leader said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.