.
A week is a long time in politics, is an astute observation attributed to former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson but not always true of the groundhog scenarios that surround the social and political arena of Cyprus.
Having said that, maybe this past week will stand out as landscape-changing among the many weeks of inertia that usually reflect political life on this Mediterranean island.
This was a week that Cypriots bade farewell to the sixth president of Cyprus Demetris Christofias who passed away at Nicosia General Hospital on June 21 aged 72.
Arguably, he is the last president, past or future, to have been gifted with the common touch, a man of the people who didn’t pander to PR or linguistic trickery.
For a long time, he ranked as the island’s most respected and popular politician, but his presidency was marred by the Mari disaster and the implosion of Cyprus’ economy and financial system.
Many would argue that both painful events were immensely avoidable and Christofias took the blame because he was the man navigating the ship called Cyprus.
This dented his reputation, but this is not to deny he was a grassroots politician that inspired generations who had complete faith in the principles he stood for.
No matter how the critical eye of history will judge him, he was Europe’s and the island’s first communist leader who believed in social justice and bringing Turkish and Greek Cypriots closer together in a reunited Cyprus.
This he was unable to do of course, and his successor has fumbled on the same rocky road where courage and conviction become the first targets of sniper fire.
Most probably, the time for Christofias to really shine was during the Annan Plan when his AKEL party faithful looked for guidance but he sat firmly on the fence once he had found it.
Whatever his faults, Christofias was a politician of substance when kingmaker but badly handled the pressure of being the king. Nevertheless, he will be sadly missed as a man who strived to do his best.
While Cyprus mourned the passing of a leader, it was quick to erase the bitter memory of a serial killer who walked among us and murdered five foreign women and their two children.
It may not have passed unnoticed, but the murder trial of 35-year-old Greek Cypriot army captain Nicos Metaxas was most probably the speediest in Cyprus legal history.
The entire process was conveniently done and dusted in a matter of hours with the accused handed down seven life sentences for premeditated murder (another legal first) before being whisked off to prison to be out of sight and out of mind.
Everyone was eager for the entire procedure to boxed and gift wrapped to the criminal court quicker than Amazon Prime same-day delivery.
To enable proceedings to chug along smoothly, the accused had pleaded guilty and presented himself in court without a lawyer so as not to be a burden on the taxpayer.
There was also the bizarre episode in the court of an almost tearful serial killer reading out a short-handwritten statement apologising to his victims.
He said he could not explain why he had carried out the killings but was tormented by memories of the past and hoped that medical science could figure out why he did what he did.
"I acknowledge my guilt," he said in a shaky voice. "I apologise to the families of the victims and to the souls of the victims."
"Cypriot society will be wondering how one of its members reached this point. I have also asked myself why; I have not yet managed to find a clear answer.”
It is hard to believe that this coldblooded killer has any empathy or sympathy for his victims, the apology seemed rather disingenuous, sounding like someone had scripted the finale so everyone could go home satisfied with the outcome.
In passing sentence, the court was in no doubt that the army officer embarked on a campaign to kill defenceless women because he knew nobody would protect them and society would not look for them.
When the police were finally urged into action, after a body was accidentally found by tourists in an abandoned mineshaft on April 14, the bodies of the other victims were recovered (some in suitcases), and case closed.
Nevertheless, the police investigation into the racist neglect and apathy that allowed these murders to go undetected for nearly three years – all the victims were reported missing to the authorities – doesn’t seem to be moving along at the same high speed.
