President Nikos Christodoulides has completed two years in office, with his administration highlighting economic stability, digital transformation and governance reforms as key achievements while facing challenges in areas including cost of living and bureaucracy.
In a statement to philenews marking the milestone, Christodoulides emphasised that his government has “laid the foundations” for continued development, implementing policies focused on five primary objectives including economic resilience, digital transformation, governance reforms, citizen security and efforts to address the Turkish occupation.
“The successive upgrades of the Republic of Cyprus’s credit rating constitute a vote of confidence in the responsible policy we follow,” Christodoulides said, highlighting government spending exceeding €700 million to address rising prices.
The president pointed to the launch of the “Digital Citizen” initiative as the beginning of efforts to improve public service delivery, alongside reforms in the Law and Audit Services.
Measures implemented over the past two years include the prompt payment of pensions and benefits, increasing the national minimum wage, and establishing the Patient Advocate institution.
On foreign policy, Christodoulides noted enhanced defence cooperation with the United States, confirmed during a historic White House visit, providing Cyprus access to military equipment and training programmes.
Political analyst Costas Venizelos observed that while the president has three years remaining in his term until March 2028, he faces significant challenges, particularly in dealing with state bureaucracy.
“Setting a minimum wage, tax reform, and social benefits are among the policies promoted and implemented.
At the same time, despite efforts, the issue of high prices is not being addressed in a way that citizens can feel,” Venizelos said.
Venizelos highlighted that Christodoulides is the first Cypriot president elected without support from one of the two major political parties, noting that “support from the ruling coalition parties cannot be considered complete, as evidenced by their stance in Parliament”.
The president’s western orientation, whilst considered established following EU accession, should not necessarily lead to NATO membership “especially when everything around us is changing,” according to Venizelos.
