Georgiades refuses to back Averof, quits Clerides Institute

Former finance minister Harris Georgiades has said he will not campaign for former Disy leader Averof Neophytou in the 2028 presidential election should he win Disy’s nomination, and has offered his resignation as chairman of the Glafcos Clerides Institute. In a letter to Disy leader Annita Demetriou, made public on Tuesday, Georgiades said it would be the first time he had not taken part in a campaign for the party’s candidate. He said he could not, “for reasons of principle”, accept “a fait accompli” that he believed was formed “under conditions of pressure and overt political blackmail”. He said he was referring to the possibility of an independent candidacy, which he said Neophytou kept open until the last moment. He argued that a party announcement on October 12, stating that Demetriou’s decision to withdraw “ensures the participation of all in the democratic processes”, confirmed this view. Georgiades said a “sober political process” to set strategy and weigh the party’s options had given way to “tactical considerations, behind the scenes manoeuvring and extreme ambition”. He described this as “out of keeping with the values and political tradition of Disy”. He also said Neophytou now expresses positions on many issues that differ substantially from established party policy, a reference to Neophytou’s recent remarks calling for the easing of energy sanctions on Russia. According to the letter, this had been raised repeatedly in recent years and “undermined efforts to make Disy a serious and coherent party of the modern centre right”. Georgiades said his objections had nothing to do with electability, for he recalled backing Neophytou fully in the last presidential election, when the then party leader’s prospects were judged unfavourable. The Glafcos Clerides Institute is Disy’s affiliated think tank, named after the late president and the party’s founder. Georgiades said that the position of its chairman as a “highly honorary position”. The letter came a day after Neophytou and incumbent Disy MP George Pamboridis formally submitted their candidacies for the nomination. Demetriou has rejected claims that she was blackmailed by Alithia’s publisher Frixos Koulermos into stepping aside, calling them “slanderous”. Media reports have cited Georgiades as one of several figures backing Pamboridis, along with former foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides and Disy shadow cabinet Michalis Ioannides.