CLOSE
Loading...
12° Nicosia,
02 June, 2026
 
Home  /  Comment  /  Opinion

Yelling, crying, and presidential interventions: Thekla’s latest beef

When psychology, journalism, and politics collide, even the President can’t catch a break.

Onasagoras

Onasagoras

The beef of the week,which apparently involves even the President, is definitely the one between journalist Kousoulos and Thekla (not the Arka one, our own little firecracker). I’m, of course, referring to the notorious Thekla Petridou: psychologist, panelist, author, and YouTuber. Wow, not even 'Sikou Pano' Tornaritis claims so many titles! So I went to watch some of her videos when I heard she requested Christodoulides’ intervention (with whom, she explained, she was classmates in private English lessons) in her feud with Kousoulos. As you know, I go crazy for beefs that mix psychology, journalism, and politics.

I saw her shouting, laughing, then immediately crying, frequently heading to the bathroom during live streams, invoking Christodoulides, and repeating the cycle: yelling, laughter, tears, bathroom, calling on Christodoulides’ intervention, all in some psychologically heavy, yet inexplicably entertaining and dangerously addictive videos! Poor President! As if the sarcasm about pensions and posts from his “national cousin”, which indirectly but clearly make him look unreliable, weren’t enough, now he has to deal with Thekla’s drama? Have mercy and let him breathe.

Christodoulides and I were classmates in private English lessons. Thekla Petridou

How did our new national beef start? In short, and since it seems this matter will end up in court, Thekla was persistently asking Kousoulos to take a stand in her dispute with a Greek psychologist whom he hosted on his show. Suddenly, he blew up on social media, accusing our Thekla of being a “public law fraudster,” hinting at her involvement in extortion and unethical behavior, and even posted a photo of himself with Nikos Christodoulides! That photo was the straw that broke the camel’s back: Thekla immediately contacted our Nikos, who cut short his holiday on a friend’s boat, and replied to his childhood classmate. The rest is history, as we say in my village.

“To give birth to a Venizelos, struggles must be carried,” wrote Odysseas, obviously inventing a new personal catchphrase, since in the original it refers not to struggles (Olympic or childbirth) but to centuries. Apparently someone pointed out the mistake and he corrected it, but one can’t help wondering whether he sees himself as the new Venizelos. Even the most narcissistic syndromes have limits, otherwise a tiny misstep can send us over a cliff. Also, why does our Venizelos communicate with his sister through public messages on X? Doesn’t he have her phone number?

Hallelujah. The President will donate his pension (once the relevant voluntary renunciation law is officially passed, for the roughly one year remaining in his term) to charitable institutions. An act welcomed by many who previously criticized Christodoulides. But the naysayers, who never find a good word to say, claim this signals the start of the 2028 election campaign and a desperate attempt to boost his low popularity. I strongly disagree. After all, it’s well known that our young Nikos started his 2028 campaign (some say at Nicaros’ prompting) about 10 years ago, and never stopped. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the eight stylized poses he posted from a church at a recent memorial. The show must go on.

This op-ed was translated from its Greek original.

Opinion: Latest Articles

The question is not whether change is coming, but how Cyprus responds. Photo credit: www.consilium.europa.eu

Veto or not?

Cyprus risks losing influence if it remains attached to an outdated view of the veto.
Opinion
 |  OPINION
Social Media photo courtesy Visit Cyprus

Coffee shop conversations

How a village café becomes the heartbeat of community life, memory, and everyday connection in rural Cyprus.
Michalis Michaelides
 |  OPINION
Composure

Composure

Voters back familiar parties and send a warning to louder, anti-establishment voices that politics still runs on trust, ...
Opinion
 |  OPINION
Turkey did not hide its intentions. The maps, coordinates, and warnings were there from the beginning, while Cyprus chose delay over confrontation. Photo credit: kibrispostasi.com

15 Years

For 15 years, Cyprus watched Turkey formalize its claims in silence. Now, after Ankara prepares to cement them into law, ...
Pavlos Xanthoulis
 |  OPINION
Platforms continue promising a better user experience while demanding more sharing and more noise from people already stretched to their limit. Image is AI

No more noise

Information overload is no longer a side effect of digital life but one of its defining conditions, leaving less room for ...
Paris Demetriades
 |  OPINION
The real issue is not how investors see us, but how willingly we trade heritage, identity, and community for quick money. Photo credit: @trozena.cy Facebook

Talking past the real issue

We had more outrage for a foreign investor pointing out that Cypriots speak English than for the unchecked development that ...
Paris Demetriades
 |  OPINION
Israel at Eurovision

Israel at Eurovision

Why are Russian bans in sports and culture not matched with similar restrictions on Israel?
Opinion
 |  OPINION
File photo of Constantinos the Great Beach Hotel in Protaras, Cyprus

Prudently & sparingly

As tourism takes a hit from regional tensions, questions grow over whether profitable hotels should receive state aid while ...
Dorita Yiannakou
 |  OPINION
In Trozena, investors see opportunity while the state once again looks unprepared and absent. Photo credit: trozena.cy

On Trozena’s pitch-black ridge

A forgotten Cypriot village becomes the latest battleground between unchecked development and the loss of local identity. ...
Apostolos Kouroupakis
 |  OPINION
From Suez to Iran, history offers a reminder that even the best-laid military plans can quickly unravel. Photo credit: @whitehouse Instagram

Give peace a chance

Trump’s unpredictable war strategy has left allies uneasy and searching for clarity.
Costas Iordanidis
 |  OPINION
Behind the push for investment, a quiet power struggle between Cyprus’s top business bodies is becoming impossible to ignore. Photo credit: Unsplash

In the trenches

A long-simmering rivalry spills into the open as business groups clash over influence and exclusion.
Dorita Yiannakou
 |  OPINION
Growth for a few, hardship for many, and the quiet collapse behind the success story. Photo credit: Unsplash

The wreckage of a narrative

A decade after the crisis, the story of economic recovery looks far less convincing for most Cypriots.
Paris Demetriades
 |  OPINION
X