Anastasiades announces new cabinet, but is it of ‘a broader social acceptance’?

President Nicos Anastasiades, confident that he won a second term in office with a comfortable margin, has appointed a new cabinet, maintaining a handful of his close associates in key positions, but unable to convince the public that the appointees represent a ‘broader social acceptance’ as he had promised in his election campaign.

Furthermore, by giving the Transport portfolio and the junior ministry for shipping to women falls short of the anticipation of a bigger female presence.

The new Council of Ministers will be sworn in on March 1, with the re-appointed cabinet members being Haris Georghiades (Finance), Constantinos Petrides (Interior), Yiorgos Lakkotrypis (Energy and Tourism), Zeta Emilianidou (Labour and Social Insurance) and Ionas Nicolaou (Justice).

Close confidante and Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides returns to the diplomatic service as the new Foreign Minister, replacing Ioannis Kasoulides who has decided to retire from politics, while Education Minister Costas Kadis moves to Agriculture, replacing Nicos Kouyialis.

Newcomers include Vassiliki Anastasiades (no relation) who completed a lifelong career at the House of Representatives and until today parliament’s Director General, who is the new Minister of Transport and Communications, taking over from Marios Demetriades.

Christophoros Fokaides steps down at Defence and is replaced by Savvas Angelides, while the new Minister of Education and Culture is Kostas Hampiaouris, an education veteran from Paphos. The new Minister of Health is Constantinos Ioannou, replacing lawyer Yiorgos Pambrodes who declared he completed his assignment to get the ball rolling on the National Health Scheme (GESY).

DISY spokesman and veteran MP Prodhromos Prodhromou moves to the Presidential Palace as government spokesman, an appointment that is expected to re-ignite daily arguments with the opposition members.

New to the team is Natasa Pilidou, who had been appointed by this administration to head the Cyprus Invstment Promotion Agency, who will be the Junior Minister for Shipping, a new office that will see the Department of Merchant Shipping merged back into the government and will be reporting straight to the president, but will not have voting powers in the Cabinet. Two more junior ministries are expected to materialise: Tourism, and Innovations and Development.

Another fresh face will be Klelia Vasiliou, the only appointee from the rural areas who takes over as Deputy Government Spokesman from veteran journalist Victor Papadopoulos, while President Anastasiades has kept on Humanitarian and Diaspora Commissioner Photis Photiou, Environment Commissioner Ioanna Panayiotou and Volunteerism Commissioner Yiannis Yiannaki.

The Deputy Minister to the President will be Vasilis Palmas and the new Director of the President’s Office is Petros Demetriou.