Frixos Dalitis
The time for reshuffle has come for President Anastasiadis, who yesterday formally completed his cycle of contacts with political leaders.
The result was more or less expected, but the goal for the President remains the same in terms of forming a Government widely accepted as he has characterized it. The image of the scene has now become quite clear in terms of how Nikos Anastasiadis will proceed in terms of the axes on which he will move from now on.
The President will essentially seek to find people from the party districts that belong to the broader ideological space of a party and are not a party official. At the same time, they should be people who are considered to be generally respected and their choice, however, will not affect his relations with any party. This, after all, is the message that all the political leaders sent the previous two days to the President of the Republic in the context of their contacts.
Staying at the same time their intention to show a spirit of cooperation and consensus in the context of the debate in Parliament on the pending reforms. The circle of contacts ended yesterday with Nikolas Papadopoulos, Mario Karoyan and Charalambos Theopemptou, with the three of them responding negatively to the possibility of participating in a Government of wide acceptance.
The President even published yesterday the document which he distributed to the political leaders, in which the reforms that need to be made are recorded in detail and the timetable that is set for each case. The reform program is directly linked to the “Cyprus of Tomorrow” program, amounting to 4.4 billion euros.
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In terms of the reshuffle and the changes that are expected to take place in the government, the landscape remains fluid both in terms of the changes that are expected to take place and in terms of the people who will change. Except for the Minister of Health, Konstantinos Ioannou, who is leaving with the former Speaker of Parliament Adamos Adamou being the name that is heard loudly for his succession, all other scenarios remain open.
The case of a change of face in the post of Government Spokesman continues to be heard loudly, with Kyriakos Kousios himself remaining as everything shows in the government figure from another post. A more probable scenario is his transfer to the Ministry of Justice in the place of Emily Giolitis, but he has not yet been locked up. President Anastasiadis keeps his papers closed for the position of Government Spokesman.
The aim of the President is, if he finally changes his face, the person who will take over the specific post to be a personality who can handle current issues and issues related to the communication image of the Government. From time to time, various names have come to light, such as the former DISY MP Xenia Konstantinos. Some rumors were made about the removal of Nikos Nouris from the Ministry of Interior, although they do not seem to have any basis.
Potential candidates could include the name of the Director of the President's Press Office, Viktoras Papadopoulos. Beyond that, the Deputy Minister of Welfare will definitely be a new person. It is certainly not ruled out that there may be other changes of faces, however with the data so far it is likely that the number of changes that will occur will not be large.
In a written statement after the meetings, President Anastasiadis thanked all the political leaders for the “honest and creative discussions we have had over the last two days. It was not a formal, conventional procedure. “It was an initiative, on my part, substantial, necessary and, as a result, very fruitful,” he said. He also expressed his satisfaction because, as he said, despite the existing and respected disagreements, I found a strong will to find common ground and the necessary consensus needed to achieve the great national goals for the benefit of society and citizens.
“The new national plan” Cyprus – Tomorrow “ does not only concern the Government, a party, a government term. This is the new long-term version of Cyprus and it concerns us all. It requires national, political and social reconciliation. What I am asking for is not for us to co-govern. My goal is not to share governance responsibilities. I ask that we build bridges of responsibility, so that together we can face the new great challenges “.
Consent for reforms
DIKO, DIPA and Ecologists responded negatively yesterday to the possibility of participating in a widely accepted Government, completing the puzzle of the negative answers of the opposition. At the same time, however, all parties are leaving the door open for cooperation in the context of the consensus on the reforms that must be passed by Parliament.
“DIKO cannot participate in a Government with which it has significant political differences, especially regarding the fight against corruption,” said the party's president, Nikolas Papadopoulos. He also said that “this does not mean that we can not contribute constructively to promote important reforms in Parliament”, noting that “we expect the Government to show the same constructive disposition.”
Marios Karoyan, after stating that the Democratic Party will not participate in the government, said that he will continue to govern on the basis of national reconciliation and social consensus. He also noted that in no case was the issue of Angelos Votsis appointed a minister.
Charalambos Theopemptou stated that the Ecologists cannot participate in a Government with which they have many disagreements. “We are ready to contribute with our views, with good cooperation to promote the right policies regarding the environment, the right programs that will lead to the protection of the environment and the creation of jobs.” pointed out.
The background for the presidency of Parliament
Marios Karoyan also referred to the proposal of the Democratic Party for the Presidency of the Parliament, announcing in advance that he will speak and say a lot towards the end of the week. “Unfortunately, a unique opportunity has been missed for all of us to make the necessary transgressions and create conditions for the widest possible unity that would lead our country safely to the new era,” he said, adding that which will allow the immediate launch of a comprehensive and effective plan of bold reforms and cuts necessary as never before that society and the country so desperately need.
The president of the Ecologists, Charalambos Theopemptou, also referred to the issue, confirming that EDEK, DIPA and Ecologists had reached an agreement in which they agreed, and AKEL and DISY, according to which the secretary general of AKEL would be elected until the presidency of the Parliament23 where if AKEL was in the new Government it would hand over the Presidency to DISY. For the reasons that this agreement broke, he referred to others.
