Much ado about nothing

In the end, says an editorial in the Cyprus Mail, all the fuss and political grandstanding that preceded the dinner for the two leaders and their spouses, hosted at the residence of the UN Special Representative Lisa Buttenheim, was much ado about nothing.

President Anastasiades’ fears that the host, Alexander Downer, would have attempted to turn Thursday’s dinner into a political event, using it to kick-start the peace process, proved totally unfounded.

The social character of the dinner was maintained and a good time was reportedly had by all.

Had Anastasiades’ angry letter, slamming Downer, ensured that the dinner went very well or had he caused a public stir over nothing? Perhaps he decided to do what all our leaders, with the support of the media, have always done – made a major issue out of procedural details.

Focusing on the procedural details and attributing to them importance they do not have is something of a national sport which all politicians and journalists love to engage in, as it spares them having to deal with the substance.

It is no coincidence that in the build-up to the dinner, the main theme in the media, endorsed by the politicians, was the fear of a ‘speedy closure of the Cyprus problem’. How anyone could seriously talk about a ‘speedy closure’ after almost 50 years of peace talks, is beyond belief.

Then again, closure would deprive our opinion-formers and leaders of their favourite subject – the procedure, which is an end in itself, inspiring lively debate over whether a dinner between the two leaders would be a strictly social event or a carefully plotted trap.