PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias said yesterday he had no intention of quitting after his Cabinet resigned in the wake of the July 11 blast and amid growing talk of an EU bailout.
“The people elected me, and it is to the people that I am accountable. Not to media,” he told newsmen after being asked if he would step down.
Earlier in the day, Christofias convened an emergency session of the Cabinet where he asked his ministers to tender their resignations with a view to a government reshuffle.
The move came after the remaining two ministers belonging to junior coalition partner DIKO handed in their resignations on Wednesday night.
DIKO had two ministers in the 11-member cabinet following the resignation ten days ago of Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the President would reshuffle his cabinet “soon” following consultations with the government’s coalition partners and other parties.
“It is a move for the president to seek to appoint a government of wider acceptance to achieve consensus on economic measures and to restore public trust,” Stefanou said.
President Christofias is facing the worst crisis of his term since coming to power in 2008.
The political shakeup comes hot on the heels of an announcement by Moody’s Investors Service which downgraded Cyprus by two notches, citing the country’s weak fiscal position, fractious political climate and close ties to the economy of fiscally-stressed Greece.
Economic troubles have been compounded by rolling blackouts after an explosion destroyed the country’s largest power station this month. Moody’s said the blast caused “material disruption” to the country’s medium-term prospects, and cut its growth forecast to zero from 1.8%. Earlier this week, talks between government and parties on a package of economic measures collapsed when the parties walked out.
The government spokesman was also asked whether the government had a plan to avoid a possible EU handout.
“Until now, Cyprus has managed to satisfy its financing needs until the end of the year. So don’t take it as a given that Cyprus will be admitted into a support mechanism,” Stefanou said.
President Christofias had been under pressure from coalition partners DIKO to create a broad-based unity government to tackle the crisis. When he did not immediately heed the call last week, DIKO asked its two ministers to quit.
DIKO’s continued presence in the coalition will depend on whether Christofias accepts its proposal for a government of “broad acceptance” to implement an emergency programme for the remainder of Christofias’ term.
Shortly after yesterday’s Cabinet session, talks got underway at the Presidential Palace between Christofias and DIKO leader Marios Garoyian to gauge whether the centrist party would be part of a new government.
Garoyian declined to go into details about the meeting, saying only that the discussions between himself and the President would continue tomorrow.
“This is a time for responsible action, a time to pause and think…the less we say the better,” said Garoyian.
The government spokesman later said Christofias-Garoyian meeting had taken place in a “constructive climate.”
With his list of allies growing thin – socialists EDEK walked out of the coalition in February last year – Christofias will have his work cut out putting together a new unity government that looks the part.
The opposition meanwhile is waiting in the wings, with DISY and the European Party calling on the President to call it quits. Joining in yesterday was 2008 presidential candidate Ioannis Kasoulides, who in a statement said Christofias had “lost the trust of the people.”
The President’s party AKEL said it would wait for the outcome of the consultations between Christofias and DIKO before expressing its views.
AKEL MP Stavros Evagorou said the communist party’s central committee, which convened yesterday, discussed both scenarios – with or without DIKO in the government.
ACommenting on the President’s troubles, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said he hoped reunification talks would not be hampered by the political crisis in the south.
“In any case, Mr. Christofias’ head will continue to ache. With this pain, how focused can he be on the negotiations?” Eroglu remarked.
