Labour minister tops new opinion poll

THE MOST popular cabinet member is Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous, who has a 49 per cent approval rating and only a four per cent disapproval rating.

Second most popular is Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis, who has a 48 per cent approval and only a five per cent disapproval rating.

In third place with 47 per cent approval is Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou, who also only has a four per cent disapproval rating.

In the phone survey of 1,000 people carried out by Cypronetwork earlier this month, Charalambous was seen as the most dynamic and decisive minister while Stavrakis was seen as the most effective. Both Ministers were found to be equally approachable and accessible.

Kyprianou has high ratings in the same categories but came in behind the other two.

Last on the list was Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis with the lowest approval rating of 21 per cent and the highest disapproval rating of 14 per cent.

Even second-last, Education Minister Andreas Demetriou, although his approval was low at 23 per cent, clocked up only a seven per cent disapproval rating.

The other ministers in the bottom half of the list, other than Polynikis, also scored disapproval ratings of less than ten per cent.

Health Minster Christos Patsalides was fourth most popular on the list. His approval rating was also over 40 per cent. In the thirty-per cent range in fifth place was Transport Minister Nicos Nicolaides, Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis was in sixth place, Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou in seventh place and Justice Minister Kypros Chrsostomides was in eight place.

Joining the Agriculture Minister at the bottom of the list with approval only in the 20 per cent bracket, were Defence Minister Costas Papacostas in ninth place, and Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides in tenth place.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.