The goal is not to select the most capable candidates, but rather those who can either undermine their opponents or those who have demonstrated sufficient commitment
When Nikos Christodoulides ran for President of the Republic in 2023, the main question he was called upon to answer was how ready he was to govern—and, above all, with whom at his side. After all, he lacked governing experience, nor did he have a major party behind him to dictate who would govern with him and what his political direction would be. And it was precisely in this context that he attempted to turn his weakness into a strength. Describing the composition of his cabinet as his most important political act, he called on citizens to judge him based on it. He revealed, then, that he had written the names of the prospective ministers in a black notebook, argued that the characteristics and profiles of the ministers were crystal clear in his mind, and took care in every statement to raise the bar of expectations ever higher with details and pre-announced. He foreshadowed equal representation of both genders, representation of all provinces, and that his ministers would be individuals from civil society who have excelled abroad.
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Promises of meritocracy, transparency, and accountability. Commitments to break with the old-guard party establishment, clarifying that his own cabinet would not include any party officials. To such an extent did he denounce party officials that he was, in effect, undermining the very parties that supported him. Meanwhile, regarding parastatal organizations, he made it clear that appointments would go not to party figures but to the most qualified individuals in each organization. These individuals would be selected not from party lists but based on the vetting process to be conducted by the new radical institution, the advisory council.
One didn’t have to be cynical to realize from the outset that these high expectations, preconceptions, and commitments could not, in reality, be fulfilled. Few, however, could have foreseen the magnitude of this media hype. And those who still had doubts about the true intentions had them confirmed just a few days ago. When Victor Papadopoulos, with disarming candor and his well-known cynicism, made it clear that the new ministers were chosen in part because they had supported Nicos Christodoulides from the very beginning.
The black notebook listing the most capable candidates has now turned into a strictly partisan cabinet. And the profile of ministers he claimed to have in mind—those who supposedly excel abroad— party officials who failed in the elections and have no connection whatsoever to the portfolios they’ve taken on.
It’s not the presence of party members in the cabinet that’s troubling. On the contrary, many in the past have done an excellent job. It’s the mockery that’s troubling. The vast gap between announcements and the actual completion of projects. It is the lack of accountability for how easily all pre-election pledges were reneged upon. But it is also the entrenchment of their understanding of politics. As a means of staying in power. Through tactical maneuvering and political calculations. By scouting out individuals who will undermine their opponents, and by staffing the cabinet with officials who will keep the parties aligned with him in line for re-election. And with a single goal: not excellence, but who has demonstrated the greatest loyalty. Who will remain, until the very end, the President’s man.
