By Loukis Skaliotis

I watched with dismay the press conference appearance of President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday, March 12.

Like his other TV appearance last January, it was another polished performance, reiterating almost the same things, repeating the same slogans, (making Cypriots feel secure, looking for the good of the many not the few. Are you listening Akel’s Stephanou?) and aiming to booster the president’s popularity which appeared to be tumbling just a few days before, if the newspaper polls are to be believed.

That objective has probably been fulfilled, if the opinion of my mother is any barometer. She expressed her approval which, I fear, is possibly shared among the wider electorate. (Alas, despite her undying love for me, listening to my opinion is discounted as the high-minded rhetoric of a little child living in fantasy land).

On Wednesday, there were two major differences from Christodoulides’ January appearance. One was the announcement of the reduction of the VAT rate on household electricity from 19 to 9 per cent and the other the presence of journalists who fielded questions after the obligatory oratorial speech by the president. Both were a welcome departure from the January event, and one could not help thinking that adding something to spice things up would be the recipe for the next event to remind us the greatness of our president.

As regards the substance of the things the president has laid out, again I am unconvinced at the piecemeal approach of tackling problems and the lack of willingness to engage in a bolder face-off to solve issues that have been long problematic in our society. The much-heralded tax reform proposals are a disappointment, (do not let the VAT giveaway fool you) as are the ones regarding housing policy.

Hidden behind the facade of appearing to push for a negotiated solution to the Cyprus problem, there is an intransigence and unwillingness to look outside the box for finding avenues to sort out the Cyprus Gordian knot. Witness the smooth gliding around the thorny issue of the six points of the Guterres framework by saying he has views on it but not mentioning whether he accepts it outright. For make no mistake about it. We need a vision that includes taking risks if we are to make progress on the Cyprus problem. 

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy gave a remarkable example on how this is done. Faced with, at best, Trump’s uncertain intentions on Ukraine, he sought to entice Trump by offering him a stake in the mineral wealth of Ukraine in exchange for his support. His plan backfired, by having Trump asking for extortionate demands and ending up in a shouting match in the White House Oval Office. Despite that, Zelenskiy rode out the storm and managed to find an agreed proposal with the US for a 30-day ceasefire. It is not yet clear whether Russia will agree to this proposal, but the fact that the proposal was on the table is a remarkable testament to Zelenskiy’s brinkmanship.

Playing it safe may avoid the heart stopping moments that the alternative entails, but it is also a way to ensure that nothing really happens to change the status quo. President Christodoulides, a career civil servant, has the “playing it safe” gene ingrained in his DNA. No amount of pretty talk can change that. And it is why I am worried that he is unsuitable to guide us through cutting the Cyprus Gordian knot.

Loukis Skaliotis is an economist