The finance minister managed to leave the chamber more or less unscathed, while on other occasions he left triumphant
Inflation, the housing crisis, as well as the low rate of implementation of development projects, sparked debate in the Finance and Budget Committee last week and put the 2027 on a collision course with the 2028 presidential election. While Finance Minister Makis Keravnos managed to emerge unscathed from the chamber, the rest of the Cabinet had better be prepared to offer convincing explanations. Let’s not forget that the budget must be passed before the end of the year, a fact that increases the risk to the economy.
This is the third time Makis Keravnos has appeared before the Finance and Budget Committee, but this appearance is nothing like the previous two. The praise for the economy’s performance was followed by tough questions about inflation, inequality, and the housing crisis, as well as criticism of the low rate of implementation of development projects.
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The finance minister managed to emerge from the chamber largely unscathed, while on other occasions he left as a triumphant figure. The credit rating agencies’ upgrades of the economy, the country’s strong performance, and the fact that he is widely respected on a personal level helped him manage the situation. And perhaps these factors are, for now, enough to ensure that the state budget is passed in December. However, the message is clear, both to the government and to the market: the pre-election period is beginning, and nothing will be easy or a given.
And explanations will be demanded.
The Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, will have to explain how many people have been helped by the seven housing programs and how the 300 million euros were utilized—which, according to a statement by the President of the Republic, the state spent for this purpose.
How far along are the procedures for the 500 social housing units—which appear to have ultimately been reduced to 460—as well as for the new collective housing units for workers? How will granting plots of land to eligible recipients at 25% of their value help, when all the evidence shows that building a home is now affordable only to the very wealthy and that even the middle class is turning to apartments? And, most importantly, what do they intend to do for our fellow citizens who are on the verge of being excluded from bank lending for home loans?
The most difficult task, however, will fall to the Minister of Energy and Commerce, Michalis Damianos. He may have been at the Ministry for only a few months, but the government is soon entering the final year of its term. As for the completion of the project in Vasiliko, the government’s stated goal was not merely to launch the bidding process for its completion in 2026, but for the project to be completed by the end of 2025!
And the cost of this delay is now being borne by electricity consumers in Cyprus, along with the cost of high fuel prices and everything else that entails. Above all, however, the minister will be judged by his ideas and by the way in which he intends to implement them.
After all, the President of the Republic has stated that the government is considering other measures as well. I am certain that members of Parliament will be bold enough to ask what those measures are. In fact, the most brazen among them will try to push through their own proposals before voting on anything. That would certainly increase the risk to the country’s economy…
