Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-01-29

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Thursday, January 29, 1998

WHILE the pro-Clerides papers led with reports about the latest opinion poll, which gave the president more than four per cent lead over George Iacovou, the rest focused on the row about nepotism.

Alithia said that the poll results showed that the dynamic for a Clerides victory existed. They also showed that "the overwhelming majority of Diko supporters rejected the elections dealings of their leadership and opposed the Akel candidate of George Iacovou".

The dynamic created be these two factors, plus the indications that the majority of supporters of the other parties would be voting for Clerides in a second ballot, gave the president a clear lead, said the paper.

Machi also trumpeted Clerides' "overwhelming superiority" in the polls. Iacovou's showing in the poll was very low (37.1 per cent), considering the electoral strength of Akel and Diko, the parties supporting him.

Even a section of Akel voters did not consider Iacovou an appealing candidate. However, the large number of undecided voters (above 10 per cent) suggested that the gap between Clerides and Iacovou could be narrowed.

Simerini reported the latest outburst by Diko leader Spyros Kyprianou, who gave examples of nepotism exercised by specific members of the government. The election campaign was highly charged and explosive, said the paper.

The paper noted that Kyprianou had accused the Chief of Police, Panicos Hadjiloizou of being a Disy "goon", only to withdraw this term later on and replace it with "organ". Kyprianou also accused the Minister of Finance of being a "super-minister" who violated the constitution.

Phileleftheros said that the electoral debate was veering out of control, with "heavy accusations exchanged" over nepotism. The other candidates seized the opportunity to attack both Kyprianou and his former government partners for their record on nepotism.

The Minister of Finance defended himself, by saying that only after Diko quit the government did Kyprianou remember that Christodoulou was acting unconstitutionally.

Haravghi fully endorsed Kyprianou's allegations as well as his call for an end to the exploitation of defence issues by the Clerides camp. Kyprianou had said that constant talk about defence matters was not in the national interest.

He added that he had heard information suggesting that the Paphos air base was not yet ready.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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