Opposition Akel on Saturday expressed bemusement at President Nikos Christodoulides’ cabinet reshuffle, while Edek, which supported the president’s election campaign in 2023 and his government, expressed fury at the six changes.

Akel said the changes announced on Friday “did not aim to enhance the efficiency and work of the government”.

It accused Christodoulides of seeking “to serve the pre-election needs of some of the parties” which support his government, adding that he “has his eyes and attention on 2028” and the next presidential election.

But it was in fact Edek which was the most scathing. The party said the six changes made to the makeup of the government caused “strong dissatisfaction” inside the party.

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“Edek’s sincere efforts so far to contribute with proposals and positions to the success of the government’s work and its selfless behaviour seem to have not been appreciated,” the party said, adding that “the rudimentary information shows a lack of respect for Edek.”

It then said that it would evaluate the reshuffle at an extraordinary meeting of its political bureau on Sunday, “with the exclusive topic of discussing the review of [our] relationship with the government”.

The party began and ended the reshuffle in control of exactly one ministerial position – that of Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou – and had hoped to be awarded another ministry.

In advance of the reshuffle, it had been reported that Panayiotou may lose her job after having made comments deemed insensitive in the midst of a wildfire which tore through the Limassol district in July and killed two people.

She said of the fire that “the only way we could have prevented [it] was for it not to have started”, though she was not the only sitting minister to raise eyebrows with their comments mid-fire, as outgoing justice minister Marios Hartsiotis said that “we had absolutely no loss of life” in the wildfire, except for the two people who did die.

Hartsiotis, officially not aligned to a political party, was demoted from the justice ministry to the role of “commissioner of the presidency”.

Akel’s own bemusement extended to saying that the new makeup of the government will see “the monumental inefficiency and incompetence of Christodoulides’ government … continue”.

“Akel, as the country’s opposition, will continue to be the solid and serious force which not only exercises documented criticism of Christodoulides’ government, but also proposes and demands realistic progressive solutions for the major problems for the major problems faced by the country and the people.”

Other parties were more welcoming of the reshuffle, however, with Diko leader Nicholas Papadopoulos saying at an event in Paphos on Friday evening that “we are here to support the implementation of the government’s programme”.

He said he is ready to collaborate with the new ministers, “because we believe that the implementation of the government’s programme will take the country forward”.

Two Diko members – former energy minister George Papanastasiou and former labour minister Yiannis Panayiotou – were relieved of their duties in Friday’s reshuffle, while one – Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides – was appointed to cabinet for the first time, and another Diko member – Energy Minister Michael Damianos – was moved from the health ministry to his new role.

Dipa was the happiest of the parties after the reshuffle, saying that it welcomed the new makeup of the government and “wishes every success to all the new ministers who take up their duties”.

“The country needs stability, efficiency and understanding, and Dipa will continue to contribute creatively to every effort which serves the public interest,” it said.

The reshuffle saw a Dipa member appointed to cabinet for the first time in the party’s history, with Marinos Mousiouttas to take up his duties as labour minister on Monday.

Of his appointment, the party said that “with his long parliamentary experience, moderation, and documented approach to critical social issues, [he] is able to successfully meet the high demands of the ministry”.

“We are confident that he will work responsibly to improve labour relations, support workers, and promote policies which will strengthen social cohesion,” it said.

It added that it will “continue to be by the side of all ministers, supporting every effort to implement the government’s work for the common good”.