*Andreas Hadjikyriakou Managing Director at the Renow
The public image of the former Auditor General (GE) in conjunction with universal frustration over the system of power in general and traditional parties, in particular, create a prospect of significant upheavals.
Provided, of course, that Odysseus Michaelides will do so as a commander. Otherwise, his ambitions for 2028 will "drown" in the 2026 ballot box.
The crisis in the political system is escalating, as the steady upward trend of ELAM and abstention shows. Following DISY and AKEL fail to elect a President of the Republic in 2023, the crisis was exacerbated, culminating in 20% of Pheidia in the European elections. In this fluid setting, Odysseus' presence threatens to further overturn the data.
Why is it a threat?
Ulysses differs from his potential opponents in both content and wrap:
His term as GE and the way he is dismissed clearly places him against the system of power. Everybody's phrase are warriors of corruption, but the average citizen, whether he likes him or not, acknowledges to Ulysses that he clashed with the system, so he ceased. The conflict, which is part of Odysseus' public identity, gives him a characteristic leader. On the contrary, Christodoulides continues at the pace of the "power he unites". The narrative of the unity, however, by definition adopts mild tones, compromises and few common denominators. Ulysses is currently practicing the loudest and sharp opposition. This, associating, places Christodoulides on the side of the establishment, downgrades AKEL into a second opposition voice and exposes DISY's (but also DIKO) ambiguity between the fellowship and the opposition. Time ready for war
Ulysses' public image is also distinct. He does not expose his personal life in public view. On 9/6/2025 he had 0 posts on Instagram, against Christodoulides' 1,410 and 2,265 by Annita Dimitriou. Ulysses we will not see him play basketball, celebrate on the platform, baking flavors or erasing candles. If you go into him you will find a disciplined and monotonous image. Always with a tie and when the jacket is not wearing the sleeves of the shirt are up, as a long time ready. A classic "thoroughly sloppy", which emits the image that he does not care about his image.
How are all this from public opinion? In a poll last March (before the "jump"), Odysseus had 59% positive and 17% negative opinions, compared to 36% positive and 36% of Annita's negative, and 24% positive and 46% of Christodoulides. His wide popularity is a sign that he can address the whole ideological spectrum. In the same poll, the "party of O. Michaelides" was fourth, after DISY, AKEL and ELAM, with inflows from all party areas. Unlike Christodoulides and Annita, who do not have access to left audiences. Noteworthy was the penetration of the Odysseus party into the huge 200,000 voters of abstention and tens of thousands of non -registered electoral rolls.
What threatens him?
The great unknown X is how Ulysses will make the transition to a commander and how society will evaluate him with his new hat. A needful hat, since it does not hide that the parliamentary is just a milestone in its march to the 2028 presidential.
But once he is now a commander, he will be judged by other criteria, beyond the earlier public life. For example:
How will it manage any intra -party disagreements? How will he react when the media treats him as the head of an emerging party, with what this entails in television time and his involvement in Debates? Where and how will it find financial resources to make a campaign? How transparent will it be about its sponsors?
There are other, small or medium -sized, issues that will arise, such as political and electoral inexperience, of himself and his associates (what he has shown us, of course).
The 'bad self'
But on his way to the presidential, there are deeper dangers.
The last time the system was threatened with overthrow was in the 1993 presidential election. In the first round, George Vassiliou, with the support of AKEL and ADISOK only, secured 44%to date. A week later he lost to Glafkos Clerides in a second round of thriller. Not because the system was united against it, but because of its own behavior. On the night of the first Sunday, journalist Aristides Viketos asked Vassiliou if he had something to say to his opponent. "I would have retired to Mr Clerides," he replied with arrogance. In a poll between first and second Sundays, although no question had been asked, the majority of respondents said that the Kingdom's statement had negatively affected its vote. He had them with Vicetto for his question, but not with himself for the answer.
Ulysses, as a general auditor, displayed samples of problematic behavior. As in his conflict with the Commissioner for Administration, for which he claimed to be prosecuted because they disagreed with the interpretation of the laws of the independence of each institution. And it wasn't the only case. Inspection in the letter of the law and the ignorance of common sense has shown in the case of the movement of the president's children to the school, but also in the research in the presidential bedroom.
(By the way, the latter was a matter that Viketos again raised).
FIRST PUBLISHING GNORA CONFIDENTIAL
