Cyprus finance minister to quit, cabinet reshuffle expected

The communist-led Cyprus government is expected to undergo a cabinet reshuffle, the second time in eight months, with finance minister Kikis Kazamias leaving on health grounds and the president moving around popular ministers 11 months before the next elections.
News reports said the departure of Kazamias, who was recently ill, was due in a matter of days.
Asked to comment on the report, he told state radio : "It is not an issue for me." Asked whether that could be taken as a rebuttal, he replied: "Next question."
Kazamias has been credited with spearheading an austerity drive since he took over last August, when Cyprus was on the brink of an economic meltdown after a munitions disaster prompted the collapse of the ruling governing coalition.
He was taken ill with an infection in late January, and has been under medical supervision even though he returned to his duties after a few days absence.
A member of the ruling communist AKEL, the Germany-trained economist pushed for mild reforms to help reduce the bloated public sector deficit, but failed to drastically cut salaries in the public sector. He oversaw a 2.5 bln euro loan from Russia and introduced a 2 percentage hike on VAT to 17%. Despite spiralling fuel and energy costs, the government refused to lower VAT on electricity to 8%.
However, Kazamias succeeded in rebuilding bridges with the central bank of Cyprus, whose governor, European Central Bank governing council member Athanasios Orphanides, was undermined by the administration claiming he did not warn against the exposure of Cyprus banks to Greece.
Kazamias's departure could rule out any renewal of Orphanides's term, which expires on April 30, the daily Phileleftheros said.
Several names have been touted for the post, with the government leaning towards Panicos Demetriades, a professor of financial economics at the University of Leicester and considered by some as a euro-skeptic.
Another candidate for the job would have been current Trade Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou, but the InBusiness news site suggested she would be sidelined in a reshuffle because of the way she handled the recent discovery and management of the island’s offshore natural gas resources.
In such a case, Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis would probably move to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, while his post could be taken over former Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou who failed to get re-elected last December.