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With the crisis in Greece sending the country into another round of adventurous uncertainty, Cyprus should avoid making any moves that would suggest instability or a weakening of the government’s resolve to continue to implement the memorandum agreed with the Troika of international lenders.
After the ridiculous dilly-dallying of the political parties on the foreclosures package of measures, President Anastasiades would be a fool to invite opposition party members to join a ‘national unity government’ at a time when his opponents are accusing him of becoming a stooge of the ECB and the IMF.
From what we have seen so far, the present administration seems to be working well, with the exception of the occasional hiccup here and there, but foremost with the delay in the implementation of rules and more effective government. So, the current cabinet does not need any shake-up or reshuffle if Nicos Anastasiades’ main aim is solely to satisfy his most outspoken critics.
On the contrary, a gesture of ‘national unity’ should come from the opposition parties themselves and the president should stop pandering to the noises of the likes of the communists who destroyed almost everything during their administration, or the centre-right DIKO that has changed faces so many times, it is difficult to judge which mask they are wearing now. Even the ruling DISY, under its present leadership, has failed to grasp the concept of democracy and has undermined the work of the government at some of its most critical moments.
If the President wants to introduce a more widespread voice in government (which defeats the purpose, as officials still need to follow his own policies), then Anastasiades could begin by beefing up the two advisory bodies (economy and geostrategic) to churn out opinion and thoughts at a much faster pace they are now.
Furthermore, if the aim is to secure “jobs for the boys”, then all that the President needs to do is implement one of his key pre-election promises and go ahead with the creation of 6 Deputy Minister posts, something that would make decision making much faster and his Cabinet more efficient. In the meantime, some progress in the pompous declarations of public sector reform would also be nice.
Already two years into his 5-year office, Anastasiades has disappointed us on many occasions and now is the time to show that actions are stronger than words. Because some of his words are simply no longer convincing.
