Nicosia, Cyprus. Direct Democracy leader Fidias Panayiotou said on Thursday that he will not attend another meeting of the National Council, citing insufficient knowledge of the Cyprus problem.
Panayiotou said economist and banker Mike Spanos will represent the party at future sessions of the advisory body to the president.
Decision announced online
In a video published online, the 26-year-old TikToker began by saying: “Christodoulides kicked me out of the National Council!”
He then explained that he did not believe he had the required knowledge of the Cyprus issue to advise the president.
“Because I have self-awareness, and like Socrates used to say, know thyself…I recognise that I don’t know enough things about the Cyprus issue so as to advise the president,” Panayiotou said in the Cypriot dialect.
Party representative
As the leader of a parliamentary party, Panayiotou had previously attended one National Council meeting.
Referring to recent developments on the Cyprus problem and the planned visit of the UN secretary-general to Cyprus, he said he should not represent Direct Democracy at the council.
“We intend to send someone else who has the knowledge and experience,” he said.
Panayiotou named Spanos, an economist and banker, as the party’s representative. He said Spanos is not a member of Direct Democracy but is someone he trusts because of his knowledge of Turkey, the Cyprus problem and the economy.
