Averof should know when to quit

He appears incapable of seeing beyond his own political ambitionsOver the past few weeks, we have witnessed an array of politicians seemingly fixated on their own importance and on the unshakable belief that only they can make a difference and save us from the perils that lie ahead. Before getting to Disy’s former leader Averof Neophytou, however, a word about the unfortunate Nicos Tornaritis, who accepted the newly invented post of special representative for Asia and Africa. Nicos Christodoulides displayed his Machiavellian skills in making the appointment. But it was sad to see Tornaritis trying, to convince whoever cared to listen, that it would have been a shame to allow his diplomatic skills go to waste. He was apparently oblivious to the fact that he was also taking part in an effort by Christodoulides to weaken Disy – the party to which Tornaritis owed his political career in the first place. But apparently Disy has no need to worry about Christodoulides’ efforts to create havoc in its ranks. They can do it themselves, thank you very much. Disy’s internal divisions Averof, a politician whose career is inseparable from Disy, appears to have had no scruples about putting the party in the same difficult position for which he himself criticised Christodoulides only four years ago. Then, it was Christodoulides who defied the party line and chose to declare his own “independent” candidacy for the presidency. Averof spoke in riddles at his press conference on Tuesday, no doubt aware of the contradiction between his position then and his actions now, perhaps hoping that the passage of time would somehow dissolve the inconsistency. Averof tried to rationalise his decision by presenting himself as the only candidate capable of tackling not only the intractable Cyprus problem but also the country’s social-justice challenges. How he failed to make a decisive difference on the latter during his ten years at the helm of the governing political party was somehow lost in translation. On the Cyprus problem, I share the concern that Christodoulides is making a mess of things. My own concerns about whether he would rise to the occasion (expressed in my article in the Sunday Mail on August 2) remain unanswered. UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin has made her own concerns abundantly clear in recent statements, at least to anyone willing to read between the lines. As usual, this has prompted accusations from the familiar quarters that she is pro-Turkish. But it was Averof’s insistence on running for president himself that gave Christodoulides the opportunity to win in 2023. Faced with numerous indications that his prospects of victory were highly doubtful, Averof nevertheless chose to press ahead, ignoring alternative avenues that provided a more respectable exit and potentially influencing the outcome of the election. The lesson of 2023 In the end, Christodoulides won. Yet Averof still appears unable to accept that his own decision contributed to that outcome, and continues to blame almost everyone under the sun for his failure. At Tuesday’s press conference, apparently trying to make a clever point, he quoted the well-known ancient Greek phrase: “το δις εξαμαρτείν ουκ ανδρός σοφού” – a wise man should not make the same mistake twice. A quotation that cuts both ways Given that he had already announced his intention to seek the presidency again, the quotation was presumably intended as a riddle about the path to the presidency he was likely to take. The irony, however, was hard to miss. The obvious message of the quotation applied as much to his own actions to seek the presidency again than to anything else. He failed to get elected in 2023, when he was at the peak of his political power. What makes him believe that he can succeed now is, frankly, beyond me. His analysis of the shortcomings of Christodoulides’ handling of the Cyprus problem may well be correct. But he is hardly the only person to recognise them. His belief that he is the person uniquely capable of guiding Cyprus through the treacherous road ahead lacks credibility. His political record does little to demonstrate why he should be the one entrusted to deliver either of the objectives he now professes to champion. Tuesday’s performance, rather than demonstrating leadership skills, merely reinforced that impression. Sadly, we were left with the uncomfortable realisation that, much like a lot of people reaching the end of their careers, this appeared to be yet another case of a politician simply not accepting it is time to retire.