Speech by the member of the AKEL Political Bureau and MP Giorgos Koukoumas during the debate on the 2026 State Budget

 

16 December 2025, House of Representatives

Today we are discussing the budget of a government that is entering its fourth year, and we can all agree that Mr. Christodoulides has fulfilled the one and only promise he made before the election: that he would continue Anastasiades’ governance and Anastasiades’ policies. This is also the reason why the budget and the economic policy that the budget embodies—a policy tailored to serve the needs of the Employers Association OEB and the Association of Banks—is not only supported by the pro-government coalition parties, but – this year too – are being voted for by DISY and far-right ELAM. These are the very same people who elected the current government. This confirms that, no matter how much they squabble, class divisions run deep, and in the end, they always vote the same way. It is therefore self-evident why AKEL is voting against such a budget.

The questions that arise about the budget and the government’s economic policy are glaring, because they reveal the extent of its contradictions and hypocrisy:

• You tell us that without growth and profits for businesses, there can be no social prosperity. But even though the country has one of the highest growth rates in Europe, wages in our country remain 30% lower than the European average. But when we measure the wealth of each country, Cyprus ranks 13th in Europe, but when we measure the purchasing power of working people’s wages, Cyprus falls to the 21st position in the relevant table. Even though Cypriot tourism is having the best year in its history—which means huge profits for big hoteliers—even then, a large section of hoteliers violate collective agreements, refusing to pay overtime and social insurance contributions. Did they achieve these record revenues and profits on their own? Was it the Hotel Owners Association PASYXE that were and are working in the kitchens and at the reception desks, working 8 and 10 hours a day as chambermaids, cleaners, and waiters?

How is it possible that the government can find millions to give to big business—by reducing the tax on dividends—but cannot find the resources to reduce VAT on electricity and basic necessities—medicines, children’s diapers, feminine hygiene products—to give households some breathing room from the high cost of living?

• How is it possible—current and former rulers—that you impose pseudo-green taxes on fuel, water, waste, taxes that will financially ruin thousands of households, but when it comes to taxing accumulated wealth and banks, you remember that you are – supposedly – against any taxation?

Madam President,

ladies and gentlemen,

No matter how much the government tries to paint a rosy picture, the Cypriot people know better than anyone else here what is happening in their lives, in their pockets, in their homes. So let’s talk about what needs to be done, what needs to be done urgently if we really want to see economic growth translate into a real improvement in the standard of living of Cypriots. Of all the things AKEL is calling for, I would highlight three key and urgent issues:

First. We must re-establish labour relations in the private sector, and this requires the reintroduction of collective bargaining agreements, which are the strongest shield for workers in the workplace. So, accept AKEL’s proposal to make it a legal requirement for any company or organization seeking a public contract or state subsidy to have and implement a collective labour agreement before submitting an application and bid. What could be more logical than ensuring that every entrepreneur who wants to receive state money is first checked to see that they respect their employees?

Second, if we are to protect the right to housing for the majority of our people, we must put a stop to the sweeping purchase of real estate by foreign investors here and now. The pace and scale of these purchases raise the question of whether, in a few years’ time, our country will still belong to us and whether we will ultimately be able to live in our own country. Because the reality is that our country is literally changing ownership, that a daily class displacement is taking place in city centres, given that the average Cypriot can no longer build, buy, or even rent a home.

AKEL’s package of proposals, which sets strict limits on real estate purchases by third-country nationals, could significantly curb real estate prices.

Third. We must confront the arbitrariness and aggressiveness of the banks. And to those in this chamber who resent being characterized—by us and by society too—as the banks’ bodyguards, let them cease to act as such. For example, don’t vote against AKEL’s bill proposal again—now that it’s back on the table—so that every borrower has the right to go to court to figure out how much they really owe before the banks and funds kick them out of their homes.

I wonder what you will say to these people again if and when you vote against our Bill Proposal again?

That it is “populism” not to accept losing one’s home because of the whims of the banks?

I also wonder what you will say to the people who have seen their mortgage payments skyrocket?

I wonder, what you will be saying to the people we could support with a special tax on the banks’ super profits, which would not suffer at all if they gave 100 million euros out of 2.5 billion euros to support housing programs?

One wonders, what will you be saying to these people – that the President of DISY and DIKO are disturbed that we should upset the banks, which are evidently perceived as sacred for some people?

And by the way, a response is due to the President of DISY, who said time and time again yesterday that DISY doesn’t play any games with the economy. I fear that you are not only playing with the economy, but also with society, and above all with the intelligence of society.

Because when you handed out 7,500 golden passports in a billion-dollar feast that will go down in history, you gambled with the whole country for the profits and business deals of a class of relatives and friends of yours.

Because when you lift a stone—from GSI to the issue of the terminal in Vasilikos—you’ll find scandals involving the DISY government, which are now being investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for political reasons, yes, you were gambling with the country’s fate.

Because when you organized the closure of the Cyprus Cooperative Bank, you gambled with the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of Cypriots.

The problem, however, is that you were indeed gambling, while others were losing: the workers, the people, the country.

The problem is that the person presiding over this whole mess, instead of at least being in the dock and on trial for scandals, is all over the channels and podcasts, demanding change, drinking to our health in “bouzoukia” night clubs with the very person who is supposed to be scrutinizing him for his life and actions, while you – in DISY – are obedient in defending him.

But our real difference is not even that. Our real difference is more fundamental and lies in the fact that, for us, this country does not belong to the bankers and the 5-6 big businessmen and mass media mogul owners who bring down governments, dictate legislation, and claim to detest statism while constantly feeding off millions in state money.

This homeland belongs to the people who wake up every day and drive the wheels of the economy and development. In offices, factories, and construction sites, in shops, workshops, classrooms, and hospitals. With their hands, their minds, their time, and their effort. The people who, whether behind a computer or behind the wheel, whether they go to work in overalls or a suit, are the ones who work and live by their own efforts and not by the efforts of others.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We may be discussing our country’s budget, but we are obliged—at times like these—to look beyond Cyprus’s borders. This is all the more so imperative given that the German Defence Minister announced the summer that has passed “may have been the last peaceful one” for Europe, while the head of NATO warned the day before yesterday that a military conflict similar to the one our grandparents experienced is imminent. Of course, the collective West is communicating all this not out of any genuine concern but as self-fulfilling prophecies. And it is precisely at such times that all Cypriots are called upon to consider which position and which side we should be taking.

• One wonders, could the right side of history be the side of monstrous military equipment and the new militarism that dominates the European Union, with €800 billion being channelled into the arms industry, by deducting funds from the cohesion funds?
• Who decided that it is in Cyprus’ interest to applaud Ursula von der Leyen, who is eager to officially include Turkey in the European Défense Agency? Or to side with Italy’s Meloni, who has already started huge military deals with Turkey and abandoned her fans in Cyprus—who idolize her—out in the cold? Who decided that it is in our country’s interest to be subservient to the United States and Trump, who, even when Mr. Christodoulides offers him the earth and the sky, continues to fully pamper Erdogan?
• Can Mr. Christodoulides, in Ukraine, really declare himself to be a supporter of international law whilst in Gaza he is a supporter—and close friend—of the arch-murderer and war criminal Netanyahu? Can a foreign policy that condemns Russia for the war in Ukraine but turns a blind eye to Israel’s ongoing genocide, which has never stopped right here next door to us, with tens of thousands of children murdered, really be credible?
• And since Mr. Christodoulides was in Ukraine, one wonders did he not understand—from the developments and the ongoing bargaining—that the protection provided by the US and NATO to their allies is more like the protection sold by the underworld, and does he not comprehend consider the dangers of his ideas?

None of these developments serve the security of our homeland. Because security means ridding our homeland of all foreign armies, not having them stay forever—with different flags and uniforms—or having other foreign armies settle in.

It means getting rid of the so-called “mother countries” and guarantors, not looking for new “guardians” in Tel Aviv and Washington.

It means removing all NATO presence from Cyprus, not bringing the whole of Cyprus into NATO.

That is precisely why, even if all the rest of you declare in unison that “Cyprus belongs to the West,” the Left will respond a thousand and one times that “Cyprus belongs to its people.”

Madam President,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The coming year, 2026, is also the year in which the Left in Cyprus celebrates its 100th anniversary, a century of existence and struggles. A whole century that proves that we are a force that no one—whether they may agree or disagree with us—can deny that the Left, AKEL, dares to choose sides and take a stand, to respond to the dilemmas about the future of our country and people. To take the side of the working people, the side of the people, the side of peace and democracy. Both in Cyprus and in the world. Now and always – no matter who stands in our way, no matter how powerful they may seem. And this will be our path in the new, second century of the Cypriot Left.

I close my speech with wishes for happy holidays to all of us. But also with special wishes to all those workers who will be working during these festive holidays. To all those who will be serving us in shops and restaurants, who are caring for our loved ones in hospitals and care facilities. To all the workers who will be away from their families, working shifts and on night shifts in the country’s essential services. Our best wishes and our thanks to them all.