By This post is also available in: ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
A video showing the president’s inner circle caught up in a back-and-forth with supposed investors and businessmen—complete with political favours in exchange for donations, interventions at the European level over sanctions, and black money—didn’t come to just remind us of what country we’re living in. It came to confirm the collapse of Nikos Christodoulides from 2023, when he took office, to now. It was the final and most damaging crack in the profile of a president who, from the outset, showed massive issues with both his credibility and his competence. A president who now has to grapple with enormous questions about ethics as well.
The video contains highly specific references describing a mechanism within the Presidential Palace that prioritises applications and offers preferential treatment in exchange for dodgy donations, illicit campaign funding, and even references to paid interventions to bypass sanctions and serve oligarchs. With a former minister acting as middleman, explaining how an under-the-table contribution—whether through the First Lady’s fund or through some fund whose role isn’t specified—could win “the president’s attention”. With the president’s office director describing how applications are processed, implying that certain contributions can secure favourable treatment. And the national contractor presenting the president as his girlfriend, declaring he’s just one phone call away from getting his interests served. Painting a picture of a president manipulated by businessmen. And creating legitimate suspicions of institutional entanglement and corruption.
The government’s response, along with that of those implicated—five hours late—confirmed that the footage, even if “edited”, was real. Instead of explanations about what was shown in the video, instead of publishing the First Lady’s fund accounts to disprove it had become part of suspect dealings between the Presidential Palace and private interests, they issued vague statements. The government spokesman talked about hybrid warfare from foreign interests aimed at undermining the president and the country. And Victor Papadopoulos framed what the public was watching with picture and sound as falling within corporate social responsibility. Both said the video was edited, claiming it was stitched together in a way that maliciously distorted the recorded conversations.
But what malicious distortion could possibly produce Giorgos Lakkotrypis’s detailed descriptions of how an investor can gain priority by contributing to the First Lady’s fund? What question could Charalambos Charalambous have been answering when he stated that an investor could come and say “we want to do these jobs and we have this money” (to be used for corporate social responsibility), or when he gave as an example an American who made (or would make) a €500,000 contribution? And what editing could have Chrysochos declaring that “the relationship we have is one of my greatest advantages”? That he completed a project “by pulling the right strings” or that he uses them all constantly for support? Because regardless of intent or motives, the video shows the president’s inner circle involved in alleged underground dealings, often with black money. That doesn’t change whether it’s edited or whether the intentions weren’t pure. Malicious doesn’t mean false. That’s why they owed a clear answer.
The video completed a cycle. A cycle full of cracks in Nikos Christodoulides’s presidential profile that now appears finished. Cracks capable of terminating whatever ambitions he has for 2028. A president who started out championing “the new”, but from the first moment embraced the old with appointments that pointed to unprecedented levels of nepotism and actions (like the First Lady’s fund) that showed he has plenty to hide. A president who, with the deadly fires, starkly revealed his government’s inability to function, and with his response, its inability to comprehend. Keeping the two ministers who bore clear responsibility in cabinet. A president who, despite the competence and credibility issues he displayed, always had one thing in his favour: at least he wasn’t corrupt. The president now has to answer for that, too. Because the video shows his very close circle involved in actions that point to institutional entanglement and corruption. In a way that touches his own ethics.
Three years ago, Nikos Christodoulides was elected with enormous momentum. He seemed so ideal for the political environment itself that many reckoned the only thing standing between him and staying at the Presidential Palace beyond a decade was legislation limiting presidential terms to two. Three years on, he looks like a president simply waiting for his term to end. Having lost his credibility, showing capability deficits at every crisis, having forfeited every good reference, he resembles a president in freefall. With absolutely no prospects left now. As much noise as he made on the way up, he’s making on the way down. And increasingly, he brings to mind a falling star.
This article was originally published on 11.01.2026
