President Christodoulides found himself entangled in his statements as he sought a way out of comment surrounding reshuffling that he made in an interview last Sunday with Phileleftheros.
In an apparent move to relieve the pressure created by his comments, and to ease tensions with his ministers, some of whom see their names in the media as potential candidates for reshuffling, Nikos Christodoulides started the Council of Ministers session with television cameras present and microphones open.
He informed the ministers that what he stated was a response to a specific question.
However, the fact that on the same day relevant information was circulating on the front pages of two other newspapers is evidence that the Presidency was attempting to create a prevailing atmosphere to prepare his ministers.
Before the start of the Council of Ministers session today, he stated: “My response to a specific question was that, yes, I will proceed with a reshuffle prior to 18 months in office. I was reading some comments in the press, and I wanted to clarify because I saw your photos in the newspapers. Know that I approach you as associates, if I have something against you or if I’m considering someone, rest assured that you won’t be informed by newspapers or anyone else.”
He added, “I wanted to clarify it, to wish you all a happy new year. We have had 10 months where significant work has been done on complex and challenging issues. Important work has been done. You, first and foremost, should highlight your work.”
And he concluded, “We continue with one and only goal, to implement the governance program we promised to the Cypriot people. All the rest that is written, said, and whispered by some, we remain focused solely on the governance program.”
Below are the questions and responses of President Christodoulides in the interview with Phileleftheros last Sunday:
“In your previous interview with Phileleftheros you mentioned the time of crisis and the evaluation of Ministers. The first year of governance is coming to an end. Have you conducted this evaluation? Are you satisfied? Will you make corrective moves?”
Your question is whether I will proceed with a reshuffle or not, to speak plainly. What I can say with certainty is that a reshuffle will take place before completing 18 months of governance. I want to clarify this because I hear and read that supposedly my criterion for reshuffling is the 18-month tenure in government to secure ministerial pensions. Rest assured that there will be a reshuffle before completing 18 months of governance.
“Does this mean that some of the ministers have not adequately fulfilled their duties or met your expectations when you selected them?”
The evaluation is ongoing. It is very normal for some to have responded to a greater extent, others to a lesser extent, and so forth. Reshuffling is purely my personal decision. I repeat, what I can tell you with certainty is that I will proceed with a reshuffle before completing 18 months from the day the government was formed.
