ACTING DIKO leader Nicos Cleanthous yesterday lashed out at media speculation that his days at the helm of the party were numbered, attributing the reports to mythmaking.
Taking its cue from the Sigma television network, daily Simerini yesterday ran a lead story suggesting Cleanthous was on his way out because of the ruling party’s poor showing in the Larnaca and Famagusta districts in Sunday’s elections.
Cleanthous headed the DIKO ballot in Larnaca, where the party lost 2.1 per cent of votes compared to the 2001 elections. In all other districts DIKO increased its ratings.
Across the island, the party increased its vote share by 3 per cent and gained two more seats in parliament; to many pundits, DIKO was the big winner of the legislative elections.
Yet Simerini claimed yesterday that many party officials and grassroots supporters wanted Cleanthous out because of the debacle in Larnaca.
Citing its sources, the paper said President Papadopoulos would not contest the chairmanship of the party, which paved the way for a shake-up in the higher echelons.
This scenario was reinforced by the likelihood that Nicos Pittokopitis would resign as the party’s deputy chairman, having failed to get re-elected to parliament.
Both Sigma and Simerini had published comments by Larnaca’s deputy mayor Alexis Michaelides (a DIKO member), who said that the campaign in the district was hampered by the fact Cleanthous was burdened with too many duties.
Michaelides’ comments were taken as an indictment of Cleanthous.
But Cleanthous yesterday dismissed the reports as idle and malicious gossip.
“They’re saying I’m responsible for Larnaca. But by the same token, I should also be responsible for the overall outcome in Cyprus, which was positive. Why do they choose to ignore this second fact? It just doesn’t stand up to logic.
“It makes you wonder whether journalism is serious,” he said.
Simerini also named former presidential spokesman Marios Karoyias as Cleanthous’ likeliest successor. Karoyian topped DIKO’s charts nationwide in the number of votes received.
“There is a fashion to view DIKO as a royal court, with people receiving knighthoods. Today it’s Mr Karoyian, tomorrow God knows who,” remarked Cleanthous.
In a show of support, DIKO’s Larnaca secretariat yesterday held a news conference, accusing certain media quarters of trying to stir up trouble.
“Mr Cleanthous passed the test of the elections with flying colours,” said Christos Orfanides, head of the Larnaca secretariat.
Orfanides explained that the poor showing in the district was probably due to “overconfidence” among DIKO voters that Cleanthous would be re-elected.
But he went on to issue a thinly veiled threat that heads would roll, saying that “certain former and current party members did not exhibit the necessary zeal during the election campaign.”
Meanwhile in Nicosia, DIKO’s Executive Bureau convened yesterday for an initial assessment of the election results. It was attended by President Tassos Papadopoulos, who seems to have indicated he will not be running for re-election as party head.
Commentators interpreted this as another sign that Papadopoulos would stand for re-election in the 2008 presidential elections.
