IN HIS poem ‘Der Zauberlehrling,’ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe tells the story of a sorcerer’s apprentice, who took the opportunity when his master was away to enchant a broom to carry out the job he was assigned to do. When the broom started to carry water in a bucket and empty it in a tub, the apprentice was happy to see his job being done, until the point he realised that the broom wouldn’t stop even after the tub was full and overflowing.
Little did he know that the broom needed another spell to stop, which he didn’t know. As the water level in the house was rising he reached in panic for an axe and cut the broom in pieces. To his amazement, the pieces stood up, became walking brooms and resumed their job. In his despair, he called his master for help as he acknowledged that it was impossible to get rid of the spirits he summoned.
Judging President Demetris Christofias, not only by his performance, but also the methods he sought to apply to create his ‘fair society’ one cannot resist comparing him with the hero in the discussed Goethe poem. Within the first three and a half years of his term he managed to turn society’s hopes into a nightmare. How did we get here?
Christofias was naive enough to believe that he could create prosperity for society by selling the central bank’s gold.
He had no doubt that by borrowing cheap money from abroad in order to increase social benefits payouts he could fulfil his election promises without harming the economy.
He also thought that being generous to public servants even as the government’s finances could not afford it, he was doing the right thing, strengthening, instead of sacrificing workers’ rights.
He did believe that he could run a country that relied on its financial sector for its prosperity by defying rules included in economic theory books for beginners, or dictated by common sense.
He gave the impression he could find a settlement in the Cyprus problem by avoiding serious engagement in negotiations.
He also thought he could juggle with an explosives’ cargo in the global political arena at no cost for his country.
And what did he achieve? Instead of a booming economy, with full employment and a considerable fiscal surplus, all we see now is economic activity weakening in all sectors, unemployment skyrocketing, and investors reluctant to lend Cyprus money at a reasonable rate.
Instead of turning Cyprus to a significant regional financial centre, we see now the banks downgraded to junk fearing deposit outflows.
Instead of turning Cyprus to an energy centre, life is paralysed when the power is cut.
It appears Christofias could not resist the temptation to use a magic spell instead of doing his job in a down-to-earth realistic way. And unsurprisingly, things did not go any differently than they did for the sorcerer’s apprentice.
What is more frightening however, is that Christofias, who seems to have lost all touch with reality, does not realise that he is making things even worse by not laying down his broom.
Given that now Cyprus is already considered as the next candidate for a European bailout, to everyone’s amazement, the Cypriot government spokesman lashes out at the German ambassador claiming more or less that he is a liar, disputing that his country offered Cyprus assistance to dispose the Iranian munitions and restore the Mari naval base after the explosion…as if it wouldn’t be Germany that would have to make the largest contribution for a Cypriot bailout should we ever come to the point where we need one.
Goethe does not tell us whether his sorcerer was lenient with his apprentice over his folly. Since Christofias asks people to show leniency, he could justify this by acknowledging that he too seems to be a bit of an apprentice at his job.
