Cyprus Editorial: The truth be told…

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As municipal elections loom and with almost all political parties losing ground in the parliamentary polls in May, it is no wonder that opposition AKEL has deployed its counter measures to fend off criticism of its handling of the economy and the Cyprob talks under President Christofias.

 
But the revelations made by former Central Bank Governor Athanassios Orphanides, albeit very late, cannot be swept under the carpet, as the banking supervisor said that information “purposely” kept in desk drawers, President Anastasiades was not well informed of the crisis when he came to office and that the haircut of deposits could have been avoided.
We have known this all for some time, and past commissions that investigated the collapse of the banking sector (and subsequently the economy) touched upon the issue, but did not go deeper, as their mandate did not include blame, and hence criminal responsibility.
But now that Orphanides has made his initial statements in parliament (he returns for more next week), his statements are public record and should be used by all stakeholders (police, Attorney General) to pursue the matter and leave no stone unturned.
The AKEL party machine was in full swing trying to fend off any allegations that it was responsible for the crash and chaos that ensued by counter attacking and deploying a character assassination of the former central banker.
Perhaps, it was Orphanides’ additional comment that the AKEL-Christofias incompetence was also to blame for the Mari disaster, that brought the nation (and the economy) to its knees that upset the opposition party most. What the administration did not like at the time was that the former centralbanker had been in a constant conflict with the ruling party of the time and was among the crowd that demonstrated in front of the Presidential Palace in July 2011, protests that have been forgotten and overtaken by the economic meltdown.
Let us see if Orphanides’ statements will be put to good use or will parliament once again water down its statements.