New president says criticism is welcome

Shortly after taking the oath of office on Tuesday, new President Nikos Christodoulides said he welcomes criticism of his appointments after it was pointed out to him that he had broken his pledge of a 50-50 representation for men and women and that no ex-ministers would be part of his cabinet.

“Starting tomorrow, it’s work, work, work,” the president told journalists as he departed the House following his investiture ceremony.

Later, at the presidential palace following the handover, Christodoulides again faced questions about his appointments.

“Yesterday [Monday] we announced 25 appointments – 14 men and 11 women, including two former ministers who have been appointed for specific reasons,” he said.

The two ex-ministers in question are Makis Keravnos (formerly a finance minister and now at the same post) and Constantinos Ioannou, who served as health minister in the previous government and now holds the interior ministry portfolio.

The president said he made an exception to his rule and picked the two for their prior experience, which will prove invaluable at the two key ministries. He had decided to play it safe.

“These ministers are technocrats. Mr Ioannou who with great success implemented the national health system and is now undertaking a very difficult ministry in order to carry out, among others, local government reform.

“And Mr Keravnos, a successful finance minister, signaling a continuation of the economic policies adopted so far. During the election campaign I said repeatedly that, especially when it comes to the economy, our policies should not be affected by election cycles… one doesn’t fool around with the economy.”

He added: “There were specific reasons for these selections. But any criticism is welcome. We are here to be judged by both the media and by society at large. At the end of the day, we will be judged based on our work.”

The president also addressed critique over his appointment of pop singer Michalis Hadjiyiannis to the junior ministry of culture – generating a great deal of buzz on social media.

“Mr Hadjiyiannis is a well-established artist, and you should be strict with him, and with all of us,” Christodoulides said.

Some media outlets commented favourably on the distribution of the sinecures, noting that many appointees do meet the criterion set by Christodoulides on the campaign trail – that the people in government should have knowledge of the subject-matter.

But again, there were exceptions – such as the surprise selection of Anna Procopiou for the justice ministry. A social activist, political analyst and podcaster, Procopiou has no prior experience in government.

Another facet drawing attention relates to the appointment of several of Christodoulides’ election campaign aides. The new president was seen as rewarding these individuals as some of them had taken the risk of leaving the Disy party to work for his campaign, while others had held office in local government.

These include Yiannis Panayiotou – a senior staffer in the PR arm of the election campaign – who now holds the labour ministry portfolio. Or Constantinos Letymbiotis, who resigned from Disy to join the Christodoulides campaign – he is the government spokesman. Also Marilena Evangelou, spokesperson for the campaign, is now junior minister for welfare. Charalambos Charalambous, another senior campaign staffer, is head of the president’s office; he is also married to the sister of the First Lady. And Josie Christodoulou, the new Gender Equality Commissioner had been a close associate of Christodoulides during his stint as foreign minister.

Other criticism of Christodoulides’ picks concerned his apparently broken promise for an equal distribution of men and women. In the cabinet, only three of the 11 sinecures are held by women.

But a more lenient interpretation in a section of the media, went like this – namely that the 50-50 representation promised by Christodoulides relates to all his appointments, present and future.

For example, The Reporter news website commented that the 50-50 quota should be seen in the wider context of appointments to semi-governmental organisations and Commissioners – positions yet to be filled. They cited Christodoulides’ exact quote on the matter: “Appointments relating to the powers of the President of the Republic will comprise 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men.”

On the question of age, by and large the new president seems to have kept his pledge to bring in young people. The glaring exception being Keravnos, aged 71. However, most of the appointees are in the 40-50 age range – the youngest being 39-year-old Letymbiotis.

Lastly, both mainstream and social media took notice of the resignation of Eleni Theocharous as leader of the Solidarity Movement party, and her statement that she would not attend the new president’s investiture ceremony. The speculation is that Theocharous – who had backed Christodoulides in the campaign – was disappointed with the new president for not consulting with her on the appointments.