By Jean Christou
IN SPITE of the smiles and friendly gestures at yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony, the sometimes bitter innuendo revealed some of the acrimony that lay behind this week’s cabinet reshuffle.The first indication was a pointed comment by President Clerides to Michalis Papapetrou that he hoped that as new government spokesman he would be objective in representing the views of the government.Former spokesman Costas Serezis — who failed to win over either politicians or journalists during his short term in office — said the burly Papapetrou not only had the body but the political weight to shoulder the responsibilities that would be put upon him.”I’m sure that Mr Papapetrou’s shoulders will prove to be titanic in this respect,” Serezis said.Serezis said his successor has already been tried and tested in the political cauldron and had the courage of his opinions, “irrespective of whether they were popular or not”.In response, Papapetrou paid tribute to Serezis, who on Monday referred to the “misery” that is Cyprus politics.Papapetrou commended Serezis for not hesitating to abandon a career in Greece “in order to be a spokesman in difficult times”.”He could not have refused the invitation at such a critical time for Cyprus,” Papapetrou said.Outgoing Defence Minister Yiannakis Chrysostomis, who came under heavy fire over a series of blunders while in office, criticised the way in which defence issues were handled.He said the biggest current problem was the delay in completing arms purchases, and blamed complex procedures and difficulties with the House Defence Committee.”Turkish troops are at the gate,” he said. “It’s time we got serious and put aside any differences we have.”Newly- appointed defence minister Socrates Hassikos said his predecessor may not have been in office for long but had laid the foundation for a lot more to be done in the future.Outgoing Communications and Works Minster Leontios Ierodiaconou bade welcome to his replacement Averof Neophytou who he described as a good friend.However, with a touch of undisguised bitterness he warned Neophytou that he was taking over many responsibilities and difficult problems and would encounter many conflicting interests, “which daily will bring him face to face with demands which would be excessive and inexcusable”.”You will be forced and must take unpopular decisions but your decisions should be to serve the good of the people as a whole,” he said.Neophytou said he would pray to God to give him the strength to fulfil the aspirations of Greek Hellenism and said he would use every ounce of his capabilities “for the strength of his country”.Christos Solomis, the only victim of the reshuffle who didn’t jump before he was pushed, spoke fondly of his time as Health Minister.”My advice is that this is the most human ministry and even if you have to work all hours, the smile of a patient should be all the reward that you need,” he told successor Frixos Savvides.Solomis, who was widely perceived as “uncaring” as a minister and was embroiled in a scandal over the disappearance of a vital kidney drug from Nicosia hospital, said he had tried to do his best in running his ministry.”But it should not be forgotten that I am a human being and as a human being I have made some mistakes,” he said.Savvides said two things were very important to him, “good humour and openness” and promised to work zealously to complete work that his predecessor had begun.Reaction from opposition parties to the reshuffle was swift.As expected, ruling Disy supported Clerides’ choices but reports suggest the party is not as happy as it appears in public.There were grumblings within the party that the appointment of Papapetrou, the United Democrats (UD) vice president, meant handing over of too much power to the party founded by former President George Vassiliou.Opposition Akel spokesman Andreas Kyprianou said the government had reached a new low in its performance and would just continue its “anti-people” policies.In an announcement, Diko said the government lacked seriousness, adding it was worried about the course which had been taken on the Cyprus problem.Socialist Edek’s Yiannakis Omirou, himself a former Defence Minister in the Clerides government, was a bit harsher. He said the reshuffle was less a sign of improvement than a sign of disintegration.UD deputy Androulla Vassiliou, who was widely tipped as the next Health Minister, only expressed anger that Cypriot women were once again overlooked in the political arena.
