President Nikos Christodoulides has kept his cards close on a potential cabinet reshuffle, avoiding the topic even with ministers he previously consulted, as speculation mounts over government changes.
When an emergency meeting at the Presidential Palace on Sunday about the cost of living adjustment (CoLA/ATA) was announced, it was immediately linked to a reshuffle. Christodoulides dismissed this as fantasy when asked on Monday, saying the two issues were not connected.
The Presidential Palace said from Sunday evening that the meetings about the ATA had nothing to do with any intentions the president may have regarding his government team.
Christodoulides’s actions on the ATA issue were primarily aimed at moving forward and closing the discussion, which is widely accepted to have dragged on too long and requires a conclusion, according to sources.
Closing pending issues is one of the matters being weighed in decisions and will certainly play a role in any moves by Christodoulides to change his government team.
Beyond the ATA issue, another significant reform the government hopes to conclude before year-end is tax reform. With Cyprus’s EU Council presidency beginning in the new year, the president wants his government members to focus particular weight in this direction and especially to succeed in the councils they will chair.
The reshuffle is a subject being discussed widely in political and ministerial circles, with everyone looking towards the west wing office of the Presidential Palace. However, the president has kept his cards very close recently. Even with some cabinet members with whom he exchanged views in the past, he has recently been carefully avoiding opening the subject.
The common assessment, even within the government, is that a reshuffle will go ahead sooner or later. Later would mean leaving it for the new year, closing a series of pending matters, perhaps even completing the six-month EU presidency term. Sooner would mean announcements in the immediate period so that new ministers have a short — albeit pressured — window to prepare for Cyprus’s EU presidency.
