Cyprus Editorial: Happy (sombre) birthday, dear Republic!

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Party poopers have spoilt this year’s birthday bash for the Republic that turns 53 today.
First off, the previous administration made a mess of the economy and we can’t afford any presents. Even the army was told it couldn’t come out to play and it has been obliged to keep its noisy and flying toys at home, while the annual parade will only feature infantry and “boots on the ground”.
Add to that the frustration of whether during the past five years Cyprus was a free market economy or a Soviet-style controlled state and the Republic soon started suffering from a mid-life crisis. Not in the mood for a party, anyway.
Then came the scoundrels and the neighbourhood gangs who lied, bullied and cheated, refusing to apologise and never to return to the cookie jar what they stole.
Of course, we had the good guys who questioned all the bad boys and let them get away with a simple reprimand.
President Anastasiades went off to London, New York and Washington where he told fellow partygoers that after suffering for six months, Cyprus is trying to get back on track, that the reserves of natural gas have been confirmed (albeit at unknown quantities) and that the peace talks should start soon, maybe this month, maybe the next.
So, let’s pull our socks up, roll our sleeves and get down to work, doing tomorrow what we were doing until yesterday – trying to fix the daily nightmare that has become of the Cyprus economy.
And those who are not helping the situation, especially by delaying changes at the Bank of Cyprus and keeping stupid credit controls in place, should not be allowed to come to any parties in the future.