WHILE Preznikone was appearing before the investigative committee set up by Anti-Corruption Authority dismantling, in his words, fake news and slander, a foe from the past also put the boot in, describing him as “a fraud and a blowhard”.
The slander was posted on Substack by retired American ambassador, John Koenig, who had served in Kyproulla for four years, leaving in 2015 after falling out publicly with Nik I over the latter’s visit to Russia to visit President Putin. There was an EU embargo on high-level meetings with Putin imposed after Russia’s 2014 invasion and annexation of Crimea, which our Nik could not possibly comply with, because of Russia’s principled stand on the Cyprob.
While Nik was leaving Moscow, Putin’s main political opponent Boris Nemtsov was assassinated, prompting Koenig to tweet, bitchily, something along the lines of “choose your friends wisely.” All hell broke loose in Kyproulla where Mother Russia’s useful idiots went after Koenig, while Nik I appeared on television to inform us that the ambassador was a vile human being.
Ten years ago, Kyproulla was still a Russian satellite, so most people rallied behind Nik and the media hounds wanted to drink Koenig’s blood for arrogantly interfering in our affairs.

TEN YEARS later, there were not too many running to Nik’s defence. Two Phil columnists came to his defence, but this was more because of their hatred of Koenig for his Cyprob views and their anti-US principles than any real sympathy for Nik whom they have consistently attacked over the years.
The angriest columnist in Kyproulla, Phil’s Giorgos Kallinikou, grudgingly conceded that “this notorious American is forcing us to play the role of defender of Anastasiades, the last thing we would think of doing.” Nikaros “has been condemned by the majority of the Cypriot people for what he has done, or not done, during his administration”, but the issue is “who is this notorious former ambassador,” wrote Kallinikou.
He reminded readers of Koenig’s unacceptable views on the Cyprob, which made him ineligible to pass judgement on our Prez. Kallinikou was taking the line of President Franklin D Roosevelt, who had responded to criticism of US support for Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza, by saying “he may be a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch.”
Our Nik might be a fraud and a blowhard, but he is our fraud and blowhard, and no Turk-loving Yank ambassador has the right to bad mouth him.

ON HIS way out of the committee hearing on Wednesday, Nik I was asked by hacks what he had to say about Koenig’s insults. “I do not want to comment on statements made by a Turkish ambassador of America to Cyprus,” he said, as if to emphasise that patriotism is the last refuge not only of the scoundrel but also of the fraud and blowhard.
Nik also told the hacks that he respected the committee and would accept its findings, a comment that could return to haunt him. In the unlikely event the investigative committee finds there are grounds to prosecute the former prez for corruption, would he accept this? I very much doubt it.
Just in case, he has been accompanied to the hearing by his lawyer, Achilleas Emilianides, who tried to keep a low profile and avoid being filmed with his client. Could he have been a bit embarrassed to be seen representing Nik because he never struck me as publicity shy in the past?

DR SIZO’S disastrous 10-year leadership of Edek will finish at the end of the month, when the party will hold a conference to elect a new leader. Several candidates have stepped forward, including deputy Costis Efstathiou, who was expelled after falling out with the great leader and the apolitical Marios Hannides, who would win comfortably if the contest is decided on looks.
Whoever it is, he (no female has announced a candidacy yet) will be a drastic improvement on the self-regarding, self-serving Sizo whose dictatorial leadership persuaded hundreds of members to quit the party which has moved very close to Elam in its rhetoric and positions.
Perhaps the new leadership will investigate the deal Sizo had done for the leasing of the Lyssarides building, near the Ochi roundabout which the founder of the party had bequeathed to Edek before his death. There are people who insist that the deal Sizo did was not in the best interest of the party, but this may just be sour grapes.

ANOTHER party/movement/faction will be competing for the support of Edek and Elam as the newly established Dimokratiki Allagi (Democratic Change) has adopted the same patriotic position on the Cyprob.
In its declaration, Dimal said on the Cyprob it supports “a just, viable and workable settlement, based on human rights and not on BBD with political equality”. It did not reveal how it will achieve this ideal settlement yet, but I am sure Dimal’s founder, big-shot lawyer Christos Clerides, must have some brilliant plan that nobody ever thought of before.
Our establishment’s bullshit detector hit red when it read an excerpt of Dimal’s declaration in Politis. It said the founders of Dimal “unite their voices to create a political grouping that expresses the real needs and dreams of citizens”. Do all citizens have the same real needs and who will decide which needs are real and which fake?
If the party expresses X-rated dreams I will join.

PREZNIKTWO’S visit to Spain on Monday launched the start of visits of EU member-states in view of the Kyproulla’s taking over of the EU presidency for the first six months of 2026, said the head of the president’s press office Victoras Papadopoulos who was accompanying him.
Our prez briefed the Spanish PM, Pedro Sanchez, about the priorities of the Kyproulla presidency, “with an emphasis on the Mediterranean dimension” including migration said Victoras.
The question is, will the Prez visit all 26 member-states to brief them about our presidency? No other EU head of state has ever done this, so why has he decided to go on a tour of all EU capitals to tell each head of government in person about the Kyproulla presidency’s plans when he could have provided this information in an email? Or he could have Face-Timed each one or had a Zoom meeting.
What is the point of this colossal waste of his time? Does our Prez have so much free time that he can waste it, touring Europe to inform each EU head of government about our presidency, when this can easily be done with a letter or phone call?

AFTER SPAIN he visited Portugal on Tuesday for the same purpose before returning to Spain to attend Wednesday’s conference of the European People’s Party. Was there a point to this visit, considering House president Annita Demetriou was there and could have conveyed any message the Prez had to make.
Why all this unnecessary travel? A skettos-drinking cynic is convinced that the Prez does all this travel to boost his income. Every day he is abroad, he is entitled to a generous daily allowance which could amount to a few hundred euros that, I suspect, is not taxed. If he is abroad three days a week he could be netting about €1,000 extra per week, which comes to and extra €4,000 a month.
This is the skettos-drinking cynic’s view which our establishment does not share, because it does not believe for a moment that our prez would allow money to rule his presidency.