PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades’ televised interview to the state broadcaster on Thursday night sparked a host of reactions by opposition parties, which sought to debunk his arguments.
Main opposition AKEL focused on the president’s claim that his government shows zero tolerance on corruption, pointing out a series of shady incidents that contradict the assertion.
“Who was it who deemed the incident with the altered contracts of the governor of the Central Bank a ‘mere misunderstanding’?” the party asked.
“Who offered the dismissed, and on trial, former deputy Attorney-general political cover and branded the events following the revelations of an independent investigation against him a ‘succession battle’? Whose in-laws took their money out of Cyprus just before the haircut on deposits, and what investigation was done on this? Who bought property next to their house from the Archbishop at a special price?”
In addition, following Anastasiades’ claim that he broke no campaign pledges other than the haircut, the party presented 11 commitments made on the campaign trail, which it claimed he failed to deliver on.
“He pledged not to go ahead with privatisations – they have already privatised the Cyprus Ports Authority, they couldn’t get the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, and they publicly state that if the bill to privatise the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority fails, they will resume efforts after May’s legislative election,” the party said.
He claimed he had secured two inter-governmental loans, pledged to renegotiate the terms of the economic adjustment programme in favour of workers, committed not to introduce new taxes, promised that banks would extend periods of loan repayments, vowed not to cut pensions, guaranteed the introduction of the National Health System, and declared that a cable-car would be built in Troodos within six months, AKEL said.
EDEK opted to revive the row over its leader Marinos Sizopoulos’ disclosure of confidential minutes of two National Council sessions, which Anastasiades strongly criticised.
“The President’s interview to state TV [on Thursday night] confirmed that the effort to mislead the public and withhold everything the President has agreed to with Mr Akinci is a conscious one,” Sizopoulos said in a statement.
“As long as this situation is perpetuated, the responsibility of EDEK, and myself personally, continues to be the full and objective disclosure of everything that goes on behind the public’s back concerning its future.”
Anastasiades’ ‘sensitivities’ regarding the role of the National Council are not convincing, he added.
“Since its formation, Mr Anastasiades is the only politician who systematically subverted its operation,” Sizopoulos claimed.
“He withdrew from National Council meetings for extended periods on two separate occasions. Therefore, he cannot justify defending it.”
Sizopoulos pledged to “continue to inform the public responsibly, objectively, and honestly”.
“If the President’s environment has a different opinion, let them accept our proposal for an open and public discussion, so that the public can decide for itself who is telling the truth and who is obscuring it.”
DIKO argued that Anastasiades’ endgame is to avoid informing the parties by disbanding the National Council.
“President Anastasiades’ assertion that disclosure of discussion of the territorial issue will cause civil war in the Greek Cypriot community confirms that the secrecy he wants to impose on the negotiations aims at surprising the public and reveals that his true intention is to bring back the Annan plan,” DIKO spokeswoman Christiana Erotocritou said.
“Which is why he wants to abolish the National Council.”
Anastasiades, DIKO said, could take advantage of public reaction to unacceptable demands by Turkey.
“But obviously Mr Anastasiades thinks the public is a weakness, rather than an ally.”
The Greens’ Giorgos Perdikis said that Anastasiades wasted an opportunity to inform the public on the convergences he arrived at with Akinci, opting to quarrel with his political opponents instead.
