President to continue Anastasiades’ successful governing model, with citizen-focused approach

President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday that he will continue to follow the “successful” model of Anastasiades’ government, with a more citizen-centred approach.

“The government’s ultimate goal is to achieve better living conditions for citizens and to create a business environment that favours the increase in investment activity, for further development and prosperity,” he told Forbes magazine in an interview.

Christodoulides said that the success of the previous government, under Nicos Anastasiades, in maintaining fiscal discipline, consolidating the banking sector, and promoting structural reforms will continue.

He added, however, that at the centre of the policies of his own government will be to meet the needs of the citizens.

To deal with the inflation, the president listed a series of measures the government is looking to continue of undertake including, subsidising electricity bills, reducing consumption and VAT rates, and subsidising interest on more than six thousand housing loans.

He also characterised as very important the measures that will be promoted in the context of the restructuring of the state, to strengthen transparency and fight corruption, including the special proposal to criminalise the failure to submit a tax return.

The president announced the establishment of a Government Work Support Secretariat at the presidential palace, which will contribute, as he said, in a decisive way to the achievement of the shared vision of creating a model state, with a thriving and resilient economy, and a fair and inclusive society.