AKEL on the government reshuffle
The President hasn’t avoided cronyism
22ND June 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
The Anastasiades government has attempted through its reshuffle to improve its image, which is indeed bad. However, the government’s problem is not its image and façade, but its policies, ethos and the style of power it has brought to the governance of the country, which is precisely why its image is bad. These cannot be fixed by changing faces when the policies and mentalities remain the same.
And while the government is attempting to fix its image, the President of the Republic has not shied away from his government’s favourite practice, namely cronyism and clientelism. The so-called posting of Mr. Victor Papadopoulos to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assumed the character of cronyism. We wonder about the legality of the decision taken, given that Mr. Papadopoulos is appointed under contract to carry out “special duties” at the Presidential palace. In any case, Mr. Papadopoulos is not a civil servant to be seconded from the Presidency to a Ministry or from one department to another.
Questions also arise about the duties Mr. Victor Papadopoulos will assume in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs has been given the responsibility for enlightenment, while the international press is followed and handled by the Press and Information Office. So why has this appointment been made, which will cost taxpaying citizens tens of thousands of euros?
