THERE is no controlling the Odysseas-general when his super-sized ego has been wounded by suggestions that his oft-repeated claims of infallibility might be on shaky ground. He just cannot cope with doubts being expressed about his unshakeable belief in his moral and intellectual perfection.
He just loses it, like some psycho case unable to control himself, spending all his time issuing announcements to prove that he is incapable of ever making a mistake. This psycho behaviour was triggered by the reports of the three investigators who looked into allegations of corruption against Deputy Attorney-General Savvas Angelides and found he had committed no such offences.
It was a slap in the face for Odysseas, who had repeatedly accused Angelides of corruption, in some vicious written attacks on him, before the authority against corruption had even hired the investigators to look into the matter.
And once the bad news was announced on Friday, Odysseas posted two long-winded announcements in 24 hours on ‘X’ to prove he was right, even though Angelides had not abused his power.
THE AUTHORITY issued a statement on Friday saying the three lawyers found no ‘abuse of power’ offences by Angelides in two cases, while in the third there may have been conflict of interest, but there were no established procedures for identifying conflict of interest. They were of the view that there was inadequate testimony regarding corruption offences.
The funniest bit of the authority’s announcement was the assertion that the ‘Inspection Officers’ (this is how the investigators were referred to) “were satisfied that the conveying of the accusations to the Authority by the auditor-general had been done in good faith.”
There was not the slightest hint of good faith in Odysseas’ behaviour, whose character assassination attempt on Angelides was merciless, as was his insistence that the authority give priority to the investigation of his accusations, which he claimed he had received from an anonymous source.
And as he did not have the authority to investigate them he handed them on to the anti-corruption authority. He had been publicly repeating the allegations before these had even been investigated implying the guilt of Angelides, in good faith.
THE THREE inspection officers were being paid €1,000 per day for their work, but we were not told how many days their investigations took. One thing is certain. The auditor-general will not be looking into this blatant waste of the taxpayer’s money. In effect, the taxpayer funded Odysseas’ pursuit of his vendetta with Angelides. Next time he wants to destroy a guy he does not like he should pick up the bill instead of leaving it to the taxpayer.
IN FRIDAY’S announcement, Odysseas claimed he respected the findings of the investigation, but although there was no adequate evidence for a criminal investigation, “it does not rule out the possibility of abuse of power, that could not be documented.”
He also reminded that there were three more cases submitted by him to the authority regarding suspension of prosecutions by Angelides. The authority against corruption will end up doing nothing else but investigating people against whom Odysseas has a grudge.
A second announcement followed on Saturday, repeating much of what was contained in the first, but also responding to reports that the attorney general would initiate procedures for the termination of Odysseas’ services for “inappropriate behaviour.” This was an attempt to deflect attention away from the real issue, he said.
It was also “totally groundless” as the AG “has no such authority,” he said before showing off his legal expertise. “Whoever initiates procedures against the auditor-general, in the form of reprisals for allegations he conveyed to the authority, is himself committing a criminal offence.”
If it is not in the form of reprisals, but in the form of ridding the state of an official who thinks he should be treated as a deity, would it still be a criminal offence?
PUBLIC LIFE would be much duller without Odysseas’ lunacy to keep us entertained, not to mention the inspiration he unfailingly offers people, who have to write a weekly column. For us weekly scribblers, Odysseas is a Godsend.
I suspect he issued the reprisals threat because he may be afraid about his future. He has embarrassed Prez Nik II on several occasions since his election, and it could be that the smiling beard has had enough of him. I would not be surprised if he and his missus gave their full backing to the AG to terminate Odysseas, as long he does not involve them.
If this were to happen (and it is a very big ‘if’) one thing is certain – Odysseas will not go quietly. He will bring the whole system crashing down before he leaves, which should be a great spectacle for all of us.
ANONYMOUS government sources (probably Mini Me) speaking to the local Tass news agency explained why the humanitarian sea corridor, christened Amalthia, through which humanitarian aid would be taken to Gaza, has not been activated.
“The conditions of full implementation of our initiative, as well as the relevant timing of it, are affected by asymmetrical factors beyond our control,” the source said. Presumably we will have to wait for symmetrical factors to be in place for full implementation.
The British ship that set off from Kyproulla two weeks ago with 85 tonnes of aid has still not reached its destination, but as the anonymous source said, it was up to the UK to decide where it would be taken. For now, the cargo is on a cruise of the Med and was last seen in docked in Malta, because of asymmetrical factors.
ON WEDNESDAY Phileleftheros reported that a “50-year-old Greek Cypriot man, Stavros Stavrou, was found dead in the driver’s seat of a car” in the Pyrgos/Kornos area.
Was there a need to describe him as a Greek Cypriot? Could a guy called Stavros be a Turkish Cypriot, an Indian, an Israeli or a Bangladeshi? And there is no way he could have been a mainland Greek either, because it is only in Kyproulla that many men have the same name and surname. There are countless examples of Michael Michael, Kyriacos Kyriacou, Giorgos Georgiou etc.
Only the other day, messages were issued by the presidents of Keve and Oev about the economy. The former is called Stavros Stavrou (not the guy in the accident) and the second Antonis Antoniou. Is it a requirement for these posts to have the same name and surname?
FORMER European Commission President Jacques Delors passed away on Wednesday, aged 98. Delors was considered the architect of the modern EU, having laid the foundations for the euro, helping in the creation of the single market and pursuing greater political integration.
He was also a socialist, who promoted many of the pro-worker measures now in place in the EU. His moves for a federal Europe did not go down well in the UK, where The Sun tabloid expressed its opposition in 1990 with one of its most memorable banner headlines – ‘Up yours, Delors’.
A variation of this headline appeared on the front page of The Sun, 27 years later, when the UK was rowing with Spain over Gibraltar. It read, ‘Up yours, senors,’ but it was better the first time round.
YOU HAD to laugh at Akel’s announcement condemning Archbishop Georgios III’s fire and brimstone Christmas message. “The message of Christmas, by definition ecumenical and humanist should be a message of peace, love and solidarity, instead of featuring political positions, which raise questions…”
And there I was thinking communists are atheists who have better things to do than giving opinions about the contents of a Christmas message by a guy who offers opium to the masses.
THIS is the last day of 2023, so I feel duty-bound to offer customers a positive message for the new year. I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2024 in which our Kyproulla will be re-unified, all Turkish troops will withdraw from the island and all refugees will return to their homes in safety, a year in which our country will restore its international reputation as a financial centre not involved in sanctions-busting and money-laundering, and establish itself as a pylon of regional stability of geostrategic importance, unaffected by asymmetrical factors.
Happy new year
