CLOSE
Loading...
12° Nicosia,
14 September, 2026
 
Home  /  Comment  /  Opinion

PoliticsBlog: Foulis plots, the lights go out and Cyprus faces another ‘critical week’

Averof reportedly considers going rogue, Christodoulides hits the books, the EAC remains stuck in the last century—and overlooked Larnaca finally gets some love.

Onasagoras

Onasagoras

While AKEL is revving its engines for 2028, with the party’s horses—thoroughbreds and otherwise—taking their places at the starting line of the qualifying race, the equivalent week at DISY could hardly be described as easy.

Foulis, with nothing left to lose, appears to be playing his final card, launching attacks and dropping hints mainly against Annita. “I made you, and I can break you,” he reportedly told close associates recently—conveniently forgetting that he did not, in fact, make her. Whenever he supported her, it was probably because the alternatives would have been even more painful for him. A harsh truth, perhaps, but somebody has to say it.

The EAC once again treated us to unexpected power cuts on Friday and a blackout across the island.

When he held her position, he demanded respect for the leadership and collective decisions. Now, he resembles the teacher who preached one thing and practiced another.

A dyed-in-the-wool DISY man—loyal first to the party and only then to whoever happens to be leading it—told me sadly: “Averof seems determined to get Christodoulides elected president again.”

“What do you mean, ‘again’?” I asked.

“Wasn’t it Foulis’ obsession with reaching the Presidential Palace, while ignoring every other possible option, that split DISY the last time?”

Sad but true.

And now for the bombshell of the year: Averof is considering running as an independent if he fails to secure DISY’s nomination.

It is a thought he has not yet dared to say aloud—not even to himself.

Not yet.

---

“A critical week for the Cyprus problem,” I read, and I find myself wondering: Again?

How many critical weeks can one country have? We appear to be living in a permanent state of crisis—an identity crisis, a panic crisis, an existential crisis.

In any case, Aug. 26 is approaching, along with the meeting with Erhürman. Our young Nikos has done more reading this month, in preparation, than he has done in his entire life. He did not take a holiday, either. He limited himself to the EAC’s power cuts.

Let us not forget that he has read 5,000 books—a figure considerably higher than the 4,000 women Spaliaras claimed to have slept with. Spaliaras also had Paphos roots.

Coincidence? I think not.

---

The EAC once again treated us to unexpected power cuts on Friday and a blackout across the island.

You may ask: What could be more routine?

The truth is that we are beginning to get used to it, just as we have become accustomed to paying hundreds of millions in emissions penalties.

What remains completely infuriating—and impossible to swallow—is that the EAC’s website and information hotline never seem to work precisely when people need them.

Seriously, enough.

Please join us in the 21st century. Even in slow motion. Even if you have to run on heavy fuel oil to get here.

---

While the war in Iran enters a new phase, with the emphasis shifting to economic sanctions, Americans appear far more preoccupied with Natalie Harp, who, according to rumors, is Trump’s latest favorite—or his nurse, depending on whom you ask.

For the older readers who remember, and the younger ones who need educating, similar rumors once circulated about Dimitra Liani and Andreas—and there is only one Andreas, and I am not talking about Georgiou.

That was until the two appeared together on the steps—not La Scala in Milan, nor Zeno’s Scala—walking down from an aeroplane.

The rest is history.

We did it all first, my sweet little American amateurs. Especially scandals of every imaginable variety. We have been perfecting those since antiquity.

---

Larnaca has been named Europe’s third-best destination for an autumn break.

Simple, beautiful and overlooked Larnaca—neglected both by the state and, at times, by its own residents.

Never mind that various grand plans for those infamous mammoth developments remain gathering dust in drawers.

Larnaca will eventually receive what it deserves. Then perhaps even Kimon will finally smile—or at least his bust on Finikoudes will.

After all, when he first arrived, we still had the old port—the one without the mammoth development.

TAGS
Cyprus  |  opinion  |  politics

Opinion: Latest Articles

As Nepal counts its dead and missing, the world must confront the inequality behind a crisis driven by unchecked consumption and powerful economies. Photo credit: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

Why is Nepal drowning?

The climate crisis is not a disaster for which everyone shares equal responsibility, even though its consequences are often ...
Paris Demetriades
 |  OPINION
Sometimes the wisest response to another person's grief is to pause before passing judgment. Photo credit: Unsplash

A little silence

When pain and trauma shape a person's actions, perhaps we should choose empathy before judgment.
Paris Demetriades
 |  OPINION
As marina and port projects reshape the coastline, protecting the marine environment must remain a priority. Photo credit: concretelayer.com

Can the sea be bought?

Cyprus’s coastal development is putting increasing pressure on the seas that residents and visitors have long enjoyed for ...
Paris Demetriades
 |  OPINION
The government's handling of the CY-Alert failure still leaves unanswered questions about a system designed to protect lives in real time. Photo is screen captured from Atlas Fireteam Facebook video

No fault, no accountability

The defence minister's public show of anger quickly lost credibility once the full facts behind the National Guard operation ...
Thanasis Photiou
 |  OPINION
X