About a fourth of those endorsing President Nikos Christodoulides’ candidacy back in 2023 have landed one position or another in the government, media reported on Monday.
Daily Politis named the 26 of the 100 people who back in 2023 had formally endorsed Christodoulides as presidential candidate.
The 26 have since landed jobs in the central government, in semi-governmental organisations or at the presidential palace.
Without casting aspersions on their credentials, the paper said this high percentage of Christodoulides backers cannot but raise suspicions of nepotism and quid pro quo.
In a few cases, the persons getting well-paid government jobs were not the backers themselves, but close relatives of theirs.
The list of endorsers includes Finance Minister Makis Keravnos, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeadis, former deputy culture minister Michalis Hadjiyiannis, and Central Bank governor Christodoulos Patsalides.
There are also Christina Sarri, vice-chairman at the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation; Christina Iacovidou, vice-chairman at the Cyprus Ports Authority; Georgios Aresti, special adviser to the president and to the cabinet on matters of ethics; Andreas Procopiou, appointed to the board of directors of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority; former deputy government spokesman Doxa Komodromou; and Christos Hadjimanolis, former chairman of the Cyprus Ports Authority.
Hadjimanolis, who endorsed Christodoulides as candidate, is the father of current Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanoli.
Other names include Marios Charalambides, recently appointed as the Patients’ Advocate; and Anna Zafiri-Polychronidou, an adviser to the interior minister.
Politis went on to point out that, beyond these 26 official backers, several individuals close to the presidential family have secured jobs in the public sector.
These include the undersecretary to the president Irini Piki, a friend of the presidential couple; the head of the president’s diplomatic office Marilena Raouna, who was maid-of-honour at Christodoulides’ wedding; member of the presidential guard Demetris Gerolemou, Christodoulides’ best man at his nuptials; and the director of the president’s office Charalambos Charalambous, who is the husband of Christia Karsera – the first lady’s sister.
In addition, four persons friendly with the presidential couple have been appointed as permanent secretaries at ministries: Anna Aristotelous, Georgios Papageorgiou, Kyriacos Iordanou and Penelope Papavasileiou.
All these placements, said Politis, appear to be in stark contrast to the promises of a “new ethos” and meritocracy made by Christodoulides on the election campaign trail.
