Save petrol and food, tip from Cyprus president

NICOSIA, July 8 (Reuters) – Cyprus president Demetris Christofias on Tuesday told islanders battered by price hikes to stick to the bare necessities — but admitted he did not always follow his own advice.
With inflation running at a five-year high of 5.47 percent last month, Cypriots have seen their purchasing power crimped considerably from a wave of increases in fuel and food.
But in order to ride the wave of price increases they should give up a few of their habits, like driving everywhere and a tendency to go overboard on food, Christofias said.
"I'm not going to tell Cypriots to stop using vehicles but I think we should each consider whether a family needs three or four cars," Christofias told a news conference in Nicosia.
Christofias, a blunt-speaking communist elected in February, counted himself in on the equation. "I went to a taverna with friends last night .. at the end of it there were four or five platters of meat left uneaten.
"I think each one of us has the ability to save more."