Pay attention to coincidences. The indefensible Anastasiades had been threatening gods and demons with lawsuits for a while.
However, he put it into action now, as the Makarios Drousiotis case progresses in the Anti-Corruption Authority. The Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General had been threatening Odysseas Michaelides for years that they would seek his dismissal.
Coincidentally, they did it now. Even if the Anti-Corruption Authority concludes that there is a case against Anastasiades, the matter will end up with the Attorney General (as the law voted by the wise men in the Parliament predicts), his friend for 40 years, who appointed him Minister of Justice and later head of the Legal Service.
Meanwhile, in this conflictual juncture, Christodoulides (of Anastasiades) ignores the extent of the catastrophic damage from the war of two top institutions and mimics Pontius Pilate, making us wonder why he was elected President.
One might claim coincidences. Very peculiar, though. It’s hard not to think that many, for many reasons, would like at this particular moment to get rid of Odysseas Michaelides or at least muzzle him.
You see, the fearless one wouldn’t keep his mouth shut about whatever developments arise regarding the aforementioned…
Whatever the reasons for the provocative action of the Attorney General, we must focus on a few key points. First, it is a given that the only similar case is that of Rikkos Erotocritou.
However, there is a huge difference. The former Attorney General had requested the dismissal of his Deputy. His subordinate, that is, within the same institution. In the present case, Savvides seeks the dismissal of an official in another institution.
If the judges decide that he has such a right, then they open Pandora’s box. They elevate the Attorney General to a superior official, who can seek the dismissal of anyone else. Even od themselves! What then is the role of the President of the Republic, who appoints to various institutions?
In the case of Rikkos Erotocritou, the Supreme Court clarified what constitutes inappropriate behaviour: “… behaviour so bad, so questionable, that it renders the person accountable for it incapable of continuing to perform the duties of his office or reasonably creates doubts in third parties, objectively judging, as to his suitability to perform the duties of his office in a fair, correct, and public-interest-serving manner.”
Let’s see how Savvides will justify that the Auditor General is not performing his duties “in a fair, correct, and public-interest-serving manner.”
Very rightly, yesterday, George Perdikis pointed out: “Is transparency, criticism, and auditing improper behaviour? All political parties and every citizen must answer this question.”
In his indictment, the Attorney General claims that the behaviour of Odysseas Michaelides undermines the public’s trust in the “state’s top legal officer” (Oh, Lord, guard my mouth).
The public’s trust in the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General does not depend on Odysseas Michaelides, or anyone else, but only on their actions. If, for example, they suspend criminal prosecutions without the slightest justification (invoking public interest without justifying it is meaningless), they effectively give the impression of abusing their office.
In the face of this grey scenario, President Christodoulides continues to repeat, in a highly irritating manner, his foolish Pontius Pilate stance. He ignores the damage on the internal front. However, he fails to perceive the damage on the external front.
When Cyprus has been internationally disgraced by the previous Government (of which he was a member), portraying the image of a corrupt state, what message is sent by the attempt to devour the competent authority to fight scandals?
However, there is a parameter they have not calculated well. By dragging the Auditor to Court, they give him the opportunity to appear as an open flood. Things will be said and wonders will be heard. And the people will be focused there to watch!
Even a possible dismissal of him (I find it hard to believe that judges will come to such a decision) does not save them from Odysseas.
They give him the opportunity to engage in politics (which he did not do when many asked him to, out of respect for the institution) and they will find him again in front of them! The only solution for his enemies is to execute him!
But they would do well to read the great Kazantzakis: “There is in this world a secret law—if it didn’t exist, the world would have been lost for thousands of years—harsh and inviolable: evil always triumphs in the beginning and is always defeated in the end!”
