Onasagoras
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, these days, our politicians conducted their conversations entirely in lyrics from Karvelas songs? Annita could tell Averof, for instance, “I’m today and you’re yesterday,” or that if he wants the keys back—to the party, that is—he'll find them “under the jasmine pot, just in case…” In the end, Annita stepped aside “out of excessive love” for unity and because “the atmosphere was electric.” As for Foullis, whose fondness for the chair on the Presidential Hill is now well established, this lyric fits him perfectly: “This love will be my Waterloo, but I don’t care.” Pamborides, meanwhile, was singing at that notorious meeting: “Hey, do you know who I am and where I come from? Where would I even begin…”
The Annas are having their moment these days, Annita remarked during a television appearance, saying she wasn’t sure what interested the public more: political developments or showbiz news. Let me put it bluntly, my dear Annita, and I hope I don’t hurt your feelings. If two programs aired at the same time, one covering Vissi and the other the bloodletting in DISY, the ratings would overwhelmingly favor the Karvelas saga. Besides, we’ve seen the other stuff before. It’s déjà vu. And don’t forget: ten years ago, Annita was putting up, taking down, and putting back up banners and posters for her candidacy as a Larnaca MP. Déjà vu there, too.
Our beloved blonde Madonna spoke of cannibalism but didn’t quite name the cannibals. She certainly wasn’t referring to Kokkinou’s Maasai. Pamborides, meanwhile, minced no words about petty bitching and self-appointed guardians while stressing that he remains an Annita fan. Not even our Anna has a fan club like that, and she filled the Olympic Stadium. Ionas Nicolaou has requested a nomination form, though, and all signs suggest Fourlas will follow, along with others. The printers won’t be able to churn out the forms fast enough. Any more for our little boat?
There’s no doubt Christodoulides would rather face Averof—against whom he is the clear favorite—than Annita, who would make things infinitely harder for him. Just look at the triumphant post from the nation’s cousin and you’ll understand: “The trap Averof Neofytou set for DISY worked. I was pleased, because it makes the road easier for Christodoulides.” Nothing further to add. No comment, as they say in Argaka.
“She will always have my respect,” Pamborides said of Annita’s decision, while Averof described it as an act of sound judgment and responsibility. Which leaves me with a perfectly reasonable question: If the current leader withdrew for the good of the party, why didn’t the then-leader do something similar in 2023, putting forward another candidate with a better chance of winning? Wouldn’t that have been an act of “sound judgment and responsibility”? Or do different rules apply when it’s your own skin in the game?
The new circumstances also change the arithmetic of future alliances, depriving DISY of the option of offering the presidency of Parliament to our national prince as a bargaining chip. Make a note of that. It will matter at some point. And let’s not forget the most absurd part of all: If Averof does secure the nomination, his campaign coordinator will be the party’s deputy president—in other words, Efthymios Diplaros. Karma is a bitch, and somewhere up on the Hill, someone is smiling sardonically. Joking aside, if Averof fails—again—to reach the second round, will he at least manage to mutter a *mea culpa*, showing Annita’s “sound judgment and responsibility”?
*P.S. My dear publisher, when are we going out for fish? And please don’t speak ill of Mr. Koulermos, who meddles in DISY without holding any party office and threatens gods and demons—there's Vissi again. The Man, as Foullis himself said—oops, wrong account—built DISY’s headquarters. I imagine that, unlike the building next door, this one has its permits. With his own steel, his own glass—and he eats only his own fish, with no “extras.” The dark side of Glafcos…*
