Cabinet reshuffle to take place before 18 months in office, President says

A cabinet reshuffle will take place before the 18 months of President Nikos Christodoulides’ governance are up, he said in an interview published in Phileleftheros on Sunday, noting that decisions will be taken on the basis of his own assessment and the messages he receives from  society.

Responding to questions on the issue, Christodoulides said the evaluation of his ministers is “a daily task…It is very normal that some have responded to a greater extent, some to a lesser extent and so on.”

The reshuffle, he noted, “is purely my personal decision,” adding that “what I can tell you with certainty is that I will proceed with a reshuffle before the completion of 18 months from the day the government was formed.”

The 18-month mark is significant because once that timeframe elapses, ministers are eligible for a ministerial pension.

“I am in constant contact with all members of the cabinet, discussing and exchanging views on matters of their responsibility. On the basis of my own assessment and the messages I receive from the society, decisions will be taken and announced,” he specified.

As to whether he will consult with the political parties that support him, he replied that “I have a meeting every week with the leaders of the parties that supported me for general discussion and exchange of views on policy issues.”

“As far as the reshuffle is concerned, as I mentioned before, it is purely my personal matter and the decisions will be taken solely by me,” he clarified.

Asked if this will not hurt his relations with the parties that supported him, he replied “in no way whatsoever. The parties have supported me without any agreement in exchange and have not lost their autonomy.”

Christodoulides also highlighted that on March 1 he will take stock of his first year in office. “For me, accountability to the Cypriot people is a key component of our governance,” he said.

In January, he added, “we will invite about 400-500 people, including all the MPs and party leaders, the productive forces of our country, the professional associations and trade unions, to the presidential palace and I will present to them what we intend to implement in 2024.”

The presentation will be made, as he explains, based on the “State of the Union” model, as in the US and the EU.

Asked about the image of the government, Christodoulides pointed to the work the state has undertaken in various areas, such as immigration, CoLA and the minimum wage, foreclosures, the student assessment system and traffic management.

“We have done a lot of things in 10 months, however there has been a key weakness in communicating what we have done,” he said.

“You realise that we can’t take for granted any party support that whatever we do, right or wrong, there will be a party apparatus that will support us,” he said.

“Therefore, we are clearly more prone to criticism because we don’t have any given party support,” he added.

Nevertheless, he continued, “this is not something that worries me,” noting that “I will not compromise on policy issues to secure party support.”