Filenews 14 February 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The laws of the new Government are expected to pass through the Parliament, as the election of Nikos Christodoulides changed the balance in Parliament. The new President of the Republic, recognizing that the Parliament will not be an easy task, in his first speech extended a hand of cooperation to all parties.
Now the opposition has more than double the votes in the Parliament, as for the first time the two major parties of the country, DISY and AKEL with 32 deputies are, at least for the time being, facing the new Government. On the other hand, the votes of the 16 deputies of DIKO, EDEK and DHPA, who support the new President of the Republic, are not enough on their own to pass the hurdle of the Parliament.
There are all three votes from the ELAM MPs, the three from the Ecologist MPs, as well as the two votes from the independent MPs Andreas Themistokleous and Kostis Efstathiou. Of course, the fragmentation of DISY cannot be ignored, due to internal party squabbles, even though the president of Averoff party Neophytou himself on Sunday had stated that the new President of the Republic can count on the support of DISY for the prosperity of the country. Therefore, given these facts, in cases where the Rally will give its positive vote to the legislation, it will first vaccinate them with its positions. Essentially, they will change the lights and the Government, having no other choice, will make concessions in order for the legislation to pass through Parliament.
The economy unites them
However, on many issues of the economy, what unites DISY with the new Government is more than what divides them. On some economic issues, the new Government will be a continuation of the course set by the Anastasiades Government. For example, for the National Recovery Plan, through which the country will receive €1.1 billion from the European Commission, it is a given that the reforms and projects that Cyprus has committed to will be promoted. Of course, for some legislation related to the Recovery Fund, the current ruling parties when they were in opposition had expressed some reservations, with the result that they were not approved within the timeframes. In addition, on some other economic issues, although the two parties disagree on some points, an effort will be made to build bridges of communication, to find a formula with which their views will coincide. The biggest obstacle for the new Government will be the annual state budget, as DISY and AKEL with their amendments will be able to make it unrecognizable.
The landscape is cloudy for the rest of us
Decisive will be the 8 votes of the deputies of ELAM, the Ecologists and the two independent deputies. ELAM, although it voted according to its conscience, the majority of its voters are certain to have supported the candidacy of the new President. All three of the party's MPs in Parliament are likely to have a positive attitude on some issues. In case they disagree, they will table amendments, which are usually not accepted by the other parties, which will likely lead the ELAMites to vote against the bills. Ecologists, on the other hand, as they have done up to now, will position themselves according to the issues and positions they have on each issue. It is recalled that two MPs in the movement's parliamentary group took a different stance in the elections. Alexandra Attalidou openly supported Andreas Mavrogiannis and Stavros Papadouris supported the candidacy of Nikos Christodoulides. Mr. Jeuppetou did not speak publicly. Finally, Andreas Themistokleous (who supported Christodoulides) and Kostis Efstathiou are expected to position themselves according to the issues.
LABELLING
Pressure from AKEL... but
The AKEL camp, although it will also try to apply the tactic of pressure on the Government, on many issues it will be difficult for both parties to find a common code of communication. This is largely due to the ideological differences and philosophy they have on a number of issues. The left-wing party, as it did during the Anastasiades administration, will not give a blank cheque to the new government. When he has reservations, he will demand changes to the bills. In addition, through proposals for legislation, it will also promote legislative regulations that the Government does not favour.
