Tales from the Coffeeshop: Not even Prezniktwo can put a positive spin on this one

YOU ALMOST felt sorry for Prezniktwo, seeing his dazed and confused look when he arrived at the crisis centre set up in Ayios Amvrosios to deal with wildfire in the Troodos foothills north of Limassol.

He had lost his swagger, looking more like a timid shop assistant who had been left in charge of the shop by his boss and could not handle the responsibility. His head was moving from left to right non-stop, when he spoke in front of the cameras about the fire.

It was the first real crisis that his presidency faced, the first time he was out of his comfort zone and expected to show what he is made of. Well, it became apparent that he is not the type of chap you would follow into battle, but then again there are doubts he would ever dare lead anyone into battle.

He is a prez, suited for cutting ribbons, opening buildings, making speeches to gatherings of acolytes, schmoozing with foreign leaders and playing the international statesman. He did not bargain, however, for providing leadership in dire straits which cannot be managed with the kind of platitudes he had been using so far.

There was nothing ‘emblematic’ about the destructive fire which had no ‘added value’ like most things touched by the government.

THERE were no rousing, Churchillian speeches to raise the morale of the population by our fair-weather Prez who has hardly been seen since Wednesday.

He spoke once more on Thursday afternoon during a visit to the Limassol crisis centre and then kept silent for 48 hours (until Saturday afternoon), which is unprecedented for him. Obviously, he would rather not talk when he cannot be positive or praise his government.

On Thursday, like on Wednesday, he put a positive note in his comments announcing that the state would compensate people whose homes were destroyed by the fire as well as the workers of businesses that were affected. I doubt this was much comfort to people who saw their homes turned to ashes, but he had to say something positive.

Of course, engaging in his usual self-congratulatory positive speeches would be in very poor taste now, so he has gone in to hiding. This will probably be the first weekend since he was elected that he will not be making a public appearance. Not even a memorial service on Sunday.

HE DOES not want to show his face for fear that people might attack him for the government’s perceived failure to deal competently with the fire. The criticism on social media and by opposition parties has been savage.

He left his rottweiler, Victoras Papadopoulos, the head of the president’s press office, to deal with the nasty critics of Akel and Disy. Disy he said was trying to “capitalise politically on this natural disaster, using populist methods”. Any member of the Christodoulides government, even Victoras, is pretty familiar with populist methods.

As for Akel with the Mari disaster on its record had no right to criticise the government. “The Akel leadership is the last that can give lessons in political sensitivity,” said Victoras on Friday evening.

THIS was rather unfortunate considering that a few hours earlier there were calls for the resignation of the justice and public order minister Marios Hartsiotis for a grossly insensitive comment he made. It was also pretty idiotic.

“Apart from the unfortunate incident involving the two people, while 16 villages were evacuated, we had absolutely no loss of life.” How could there be “absolutely no loss of life” considering two people had been burned alive in their car trying to escape the flames?

And is the death of two people just an unfortunate incident? The angriest columnist in Kyproulla, Phil’s Giorgos Kallinikou, wondered why Hartsiotis had not been sent home yet. “Such is the obsession to minimise political responsibilities you reach the point of negating the value of two lives,” he told the closet Elamite minister.

A chastened Hartsiotis tried to fix things a few hours later. “My reference on no account was aimed at belittling the value of human life,” he said, and offered his “sincere condolences to the family and friends”, of the victims of the unfortunate incident.

THE OTHER man who went into hiding in the last few days was Mini Me. Perhaps he has gone on holiday so he does not have to face hacks and answer questions about his boastful statement in early June, about the firefighting capabilities of the government being “at absolute operational readiness with strengthened forces, modern means and clear strategy”.

He also said: “This year’s firefighting period finds the Cyprus Republic more prepared and strengthened than ever.” We had the “most complete and biggest fleet of aircraft in the history of the state, much earlier than other years.”

I am certain that Mini Me was just saying what his boss stupidly told him to say. The Prez was so keen to show off and praise his government it did not occur to him that the Gods of Olympus would punish such hubris. The Republic suffered the worst ever destruction from fire in the very year its firefighting capability was at its peak.

WHAT a relief that the Law Commissioner Louiza Zannetou was acquitted of the charge of failing to provide an adequate second sample for an alcohol test in January 2024 when she was stopped for a routine check.

How could she have been found guilty when the Assistant Chief of Operations of the police was a defence witness. It was bizarre that a cop was used to counter the case brought by the police against the commissioner who was found to be over the limit in the first alcotest she underwent.

For a case to be brought against her a second test had to be carried out, but it took hours for this to happen as the police did not have a working breathalyser. By the time one was finally found, Zannetou had drank many glasses of water and smoked loads of cigarettes which, reportedly, prevented her from blowing properly into the machine.

By then, even if she blew hard into the machine, she would not have been over the limit. She was publicly pilloried, but in the end justice prevailed.

THE NEW darling of the so-called anti-systemic mob, former judge Doria Varoshiotou failed in her attempt to be re-instated as a judge until her appeal against the judicial council’s decision not to hire her permanently after the expiration of her two-year contract at the end of June.

The court, quite rightly, decided that she could not return to the bench considering her contract had expired. Her appeal against the judicial council’s decision not to give her a permanent job is scheduled to be heard in August.

In the private sector could an employee take her employer to court if they decided not to renew her contract? This is what Doria is fighting for – to deprive her employer of the right not to renew her contract. Only in Kyproulla.