Businessman John Christodoulou said on Tuesday that he is considering standing for President of the Republic in the February 2028 election and will announce his final decision early next year. In a written statement titled "Out of Love for Cyprus," he said he was responding to recent media reports and to the many calls he had received from journalists during the day. Earlier on Tuesday, Christodoulou told Politis that there was interest on his part, after a report in Phileleftheros placed him at the centre of soundings by MEP and Direct Democracy leader Fidias Panayiotou.
In the statement, Christodoulou said that over the past few months many people, "including representatives of more than one political party," had asked him to consider running. He did not name the parties. "I want to be clear: I am not a politician. I have never wanted to become one, nor have I ever planned a life in politics," he wrote, adding that he could not accept the state of the country and that political decisions could no longer be based solely on winning votes at the next election. He described his possible candidacy as motivated "out of love, and only out of love for my country."
The case he makes
Christodoulou, a Cypriot refugee whose business is based in London, began with the Cyprus problem. He noted that 52 years after the Turkish invasion, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots still cannot return to their homes, and he criticised what he called the old mentality of "them over there, and us over here." He then turned to social conditions. He said that the cost of living keeps rising while wages fall further behind, something he said he has witnessed first-hand over the past decade through his charitable foundation. He pointed to families unable to fill their fridges, to people sleeping on the streets and to residents afraid to leave their homes because of violence in certain neighbourhoods, including his own area of Kaimakli.
He said he believes he can make a real difference in security, the economy and social welfare, while acknowledging that he is still weighing what such a decision would mean for his family and for his life at this stage. He wrote that his life has given him more than he could have hoped for, and that he often asks himself whether he truly wants to take a path that would bring such a significant change.
Other names in the frame
According to Phileleftheros, Panayiotou raised Christodoulou's name, along with that of Mike Spanos, in contacts with party leaders, including Akel, to explore a possible joint candidacy. Spanos, a former member of the Central Bank of Cyprus board, told Politis on Tuesday that he has no interest in running. Akel general secretary Stefanos Stefanou said on Monday that the party has not yet begun sounding out potential candidates.
The full statement:
Out of Love for Cyprus
In light of recent media reports and the many calls I received from journalists today, I would like to address a question that many people have been asking me over the past few months: Will I stand as a candidate for President of the Republic in 2028?
I believe they all deserve an honest answer. So here it is.
I love my country, and I love its people. It is precisely because of this love that I find it so difficult to see what they are going through.
Fifty-two years after the Turkish invasion, the Cyprus problem remains unresolved. Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are still unable to return to the homes they were forced to leave behind. Meanwhile, the old mentality of “them over there, and us over here” continues, as though nothing were at stake.
What pains me even more is what our fellow citizens face every day.
The cost of living keeps rising, while wages fall further and further behind. This is something I have witnessed first-hand over the past ten years through the work of my charitable foundation.
There are families who cannot afford to fill their fridges. There are people, even if only a few, who sleep on the streets. And there are people who are afraid to leave their homes because of violence in certain neighbourhoods, even in my own area at Kaimakli.
When people hear the words “This is Cyprus”, I want them to bring to mind a country where nobody goes hungry, nobody is left homeless, and nobody is afraid to walk home at night.
That is the Cyprus I believe in. And that is the Cyprus we deserve.
Over the past few months, many people, including representatives of more than one political party, have asked me to consider standing in the 2028 presidential election.
I want to be clear: I am not a politician. I have never wanted to become one, nor have I ever planned a life in politics.
Yet I cannot accept the state my country is in. We cannot continue making political decisions based solely on winning more votes at the next election.
We must put our country first.
That is why, out of love, and only out of love for my country, I am considering standing for President of the Republic in 2028. I have not yet made my final decision, and it is not one I will take lightly. I am also giving careful thought to what such a decision would mean for my family and for my life at this stage.
I feel fortunate to have a life that has given me more than I could ever have hoped for. And I often ask myself whether I truly want to take a different, important path, one that would bring such a significant change.
But I know that I can make a real difference for Cyprus, particularly in security, the economy and social welfare.
For now, I will take the time to reflect carefully, listen to people whose judgement I trust, and announce my final decision early next year.
Whatever I decide, one thing is certain: Cyprus deserves much better than what it has today. And I will never stop saying so, or doing everything I can to help make that better future a reality.
John Christodoulou
