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12° Nicosia,
21 September, 2026
 
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Of patriots, politicians and souvlakia: Cyprus in all its glory

From AI presidents and solar-snubbing bus stops to rising political stars, welcome to another week in our perfectly flawed democracy.

Onasagoras

Onasagoras

The ''Never-Surrender'' Tornaritis is aiming for double digits with his new movement, ''Rise Up.'' And he’s absolutely convinced it’s going to stir the waters. Sound crazy? Not to me. In a country where Fidias managed to score nearly 20 percent, why shouldn’t Tornaritis, who, by the way, once mentored him, pull off 30? Oh, it’s going to be fun.

Let’s not forget the ultra-patriot whose equally patriotic mother pulled strings, unsuccessfully, thank God, to keep him out of military service (no connection whatsoever to the leaders of that other party). This same patriot is buddies with another national flag-waver whose company sold military gear to Turkey, all while yelling at the rest of us to rise up and toss the Turks into the sea. I could go on, but... I won’t.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s report, Cyprus is officially classified as a “flawed democracy,” among the EU’s worst performers, especially in terms of “functioning of government.”

RAEK has finally approved the request for electricity storage in the national grid, meaning battery systems totaling 400 megawatt-hours will be installed. Finally. Hallelujah! We’re now moving forward with plans and actions that should’ve happened ages ago. But hey, better late (in our case, really late) than never.

Meanwhile in Rhodes, they’re upgrading 60 bus stops with roofs, benches, chargers, wheelchair access, live info screens, and solar panels. All at a cost of €3,000 each. Just saying. Here’s Rhodes showing us how it’s done, while we paid triple the price for stops that arrived without even basic shade. But who needs shade in a country like ours, right? Where it’s cloudy and raining all the time. That was also the view at the EAC for years, as they blissfully ignored the sun and the free energy it provides. Honestly...stop the Earth, I want to get off.

Cyprus: A “flawed democracy” according to the EIU

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 report, Cyprus is officially classified as a “flawed democracy,” ranking among the EU’s worst performers, especially in terms of “functioning of government.” But I’m not worried. Everything will surely improve once the president returns from his latest overseas tour.

The two shocking headlines of the day

The first? That video of the president making the rounds, created entirely by AI!
The second? The Fox of our hearts was spotted dining at a tavern with the Influencer of our hearts. They had souvlakia, in case you're wondering.

Full, extensive, absolutely-not-fake coverage of both earth-shattering events in this Sunday’s Kathimerini, in the Onasagoras column.

*This op-ed was translated from its Greek original

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