WHY NIKOS CHRISTODOULIDES IS FAILING

written by DIONYSIS DIONYSIOU | POLITIS | May 15, 2025

Why are 70% of Cypriots dissatisfied with the country’s direction, according to a recent Sigma opinion poll? Why do 65% of all Cypriots and 48% of those who voted for President Christodoulides in 2023, according to the same poll, not want him to be re-elected in 2028? In the Politis poll on 16 February 2025, 77% of citizens stated that things under his presidency have remained stagnant or have worsened. In the same survey, in an avalanche of negative judgments, 48% of respondents said that the President only makes promises, and 35% said there is no meritocracy as he appoints relatives and friends. In the Phileleftheros poll from 26 November 2024, 80% of citizens expressed disappointment with Nikos Christodoulides’ governance so far, compared to the expectations they had before the 2023 presidential elections.

Mr Christodoulides’ term is approaching its midpoint, and these numbers are catastrophic. If something doesn’t change soon, his hopes for re-election seem negligible, although he and especially those around him don’t appear to realise it. The easy solution is to resort to convenient answers, which at first level begin with questioning the last 10 polls (at least) that show his government’s ratings in freefall.

What is he focusing on?

The President himself and his team, judging from the television broadcast about his two years in office, prepare and present lists of achievements. These are achievements, of course, that never reached or had any impact whatsoever on the lives of ordinary people. Those who believe that under his governance, their lives have changed for the better, amount to just 12% of citizens. According to the Sigma poll, 47% of the country’s citizens believe that over the last two years they have been doing just as badly or worse than before. 40% believe they are doing well, just as they were previously.

The question is reasonable: Why is approximately half the country’s population disappointed with the President and his government’s policies? An example might help us understand why people view him negatively. Mr Christodoulides presents his tax reform as the flagship of his policy at every opportunity. He told us that it benefits young people and low-income earners, and simultaneously provides solutions to the issue of first-time home ownership and low birth rates. The tax-free threshold, he says, has increased from €19,500 to €20,500, while tax exemptions increase according to family size, something that benefits younger age groups. The intention may be good, but practically it is ineffective. The majority of young people are not paid €20,500 to benefit from this, and most hesitate to start a family because of this situation, much less have more than one child.

Selective policies

If Nikos Christodoulides and his government truly want to help citizens with low incomes, they should be very practical and specific, examining the problems of young people living near the poverty line. So far, they have failed to do this. Where have they succeeded? Probably where they were specific, with targeting and solutions, but in a series of issues that do not concern ordinary citizens. Ordinary people now perceive this, which is why they are disgruntled. What issues has he focused on?

  1. Pensions and benefits for politicians. For all these, the government has devoted considerable thought in an attempt to accommodate all politicians, including the President himself, as well as high-ranking civil servants who in recent years have been receiving 2-3 pensions each.
  2. In the last year, the President, in a very specific way, has given salary and pension increases to all civil servants, raising the annual recurring budget expenses by €40 million, while with horizontal benefits, such as the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA), he has essentially rewarded high-income earners.
  3. As a politician who comes from a civil service family background, he revised the provisions governing the payment of overseas maintenance allowances to officials, placing relatives and friends in the privileged Category A (for whom the allowance reaches 112.5% of the cost of meals/personal expenses for two days), based on a recent circular from the newly appointed Director General of the Ministry of Finance/
  4. In an effort to better prepare his election campaign for 2028, he proceeded to appoint his own community leaders as local power bases throughout the countryside so that he can have easy and direct access to all communities in the country.
  5. The First Lady’s fund operates under a regime of opacity in the Presidential Palace, into which several million euros are deposited each year without our knowing: a) the exact amounts, b) the contributors to this fund, c) the potential favours and accommodations to business people who contribute, d) to whom these amounts are allocated.

Where is he failing?

The underprivileged Cypriot citizen sees and feels that on a series of issues that concern their survival, that burn their pocket, that determine their quality of life, Nikos Christodoulides and his government are unfortunately failing. Let’s give a few examples.

  1. Recently, the President and his large entourage travelled to Geneva to participate in the Five-Party Conference on the Cyprus issue. Everyone knows that we are very far from restarting serious negotiations. Everyone understands that the President is managing the Cyprus issue for the purpose of creating impressions rather than substance. He couldn’t open two checkpoints and yet promises that he wants to solve the Cyprus problem! What he seeks is the maintenance of the status quo. Not to solve the problem. Where has he succeeded? He has managed to completely expose Tatar, who is out of touch with reality. In essence, of course, all Cypriots pay the price. Mr Christodoulides tells us that he wants to start the discussion from where we left off at Crans-Montana and that he accepts the 6 points of the Guterres framework, which he wants to discuss, and that he has ideas. How much deception? The Secretary General at Crans-Montana in 2017 told us that we had reached the last kilometre. Mr Christodoulides in 2025 wants to start the discussion from the beginning. With all these clever tactics, the problems affecting the 150,000 refugees from the Invasion certainly aren’t being solved, nor are the problems of the Turkish Cypriots whom Ankara humiliates daily, but ELAM, DIKO and EDEK are satisfied, and his personal ambitions are served, since after the Five-Party Conference, the election campaign for 2028 is slowly beginning. The question is what will María Ángela Holguín do, if she can do anything, when she arrives in Cyprus at the end of May?
  2. In January 2025, for the first time in the history of the Republic of Cyprus, we had power cuts during winter, to the point where we bought large quantities from the Turkish Cypriots. In summer, based on estimates from the EAC (Electricity Authority of Cyprus), we will become a hell. There is no ability to cover the country’s needs with the antiquated generator system we have, nor through photovoltaics since there is no electricity storage system, especially if we have an increased flow of tourists. Why? Because we did not anticipate this. Neither the previous government nor the Christodoulides government in the last 2 years, which is criticised because it convinced citizens to install photovoltaics on their roofs to cover their needs, but today cuts them off, forcing them to buy from the EAC, which demonstrably cannot meet their needs! A vicious cycle! As a result, Cyprus, with 330 days of sunshine per year, sells citizens the most expensive electricity in the EU. Is the government not responsible for this either?
  3. Summer is coming, and beyond electricity, we have also run out of water. It hasn’t rained, the dams are empty, but we also had huge water losses, culminating in an entire dam in Paphos emptying before our eyes. To avoid thirst, we need more desalination plants to address water supply problems. To have more desalination plants, not only for water supply but also for irrigation, as is the case in Israel, we need cheap electricity to operate them. How will we achieve this? Certainly in conjunction with cheap electricity. Israel, with its own natural gas, has cheap electricity and can use desalinated water even for irrigating vast areas. We are still trying to find out when the terminal at Vasilikos will be completed, with the President exhausting all his energy on other activities. Cutting ribbons, delivering meaningless speeches in every corner of the country, and promising the earth to every gullible citizen of this country.

Solutions

In short, every time Nikos Christodoulides opens his mouth, he talks about solutions. He will solve the Cyprus problem, he will solve the water issue by bringing small desalination plants from UAE, he will solve the electricity issue, we don’t yet know how, he will solve the issue of low birth rates, as he hasn’t explained to us how he will persuade young couples to spend more time together, he says he has solved the immigration issue, and more to come.

The philosopher Pythagoras said that it is preferable to do much and promise little. This certainly doesn’t apply to the President of Cyprus, which is perhaps why citizens believe he is failing.

This article was originally published on 16.03.2025

Source: WHY NIKOS CHRISTODOULIDES IS FAILING