Government will work with all parties where common ground exists, Papadopoulos says

The government will cooperate with all political parties where there is alignment on its policy agenda, Director of the president’s press office Victor Papadopoulos said on Tuesday, following the outcome of Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

Papadopoulos said the election result was democratic and should be respected, despite two of the three parties that had supported the government – Edek and Dipa – failing to secure seats in parliament.

“As the President of the Republic has already stated, the election result is democratic and fully respected,” Papadopoulos said.

“These are the representatives chosen by the electorate to represent the Cypriot people in the legislative branch, in the House of Representatives. The government will work with everyone for the good of Cyprus, just as it has done since the election of the President.”

Papadopoulos also said the election result appeared to show broad public support for the government’s ideological direction.

“It is positive that, as it appears, the overwhelming majority of the Cypriot people approve of the ideological and political direction of the government – that of social liberalism, with a European and western orientation for the country,” he said.

He added that cooperation would continue “at all levels” with all parties where positions overlap on government priorities, as well as on other legislation and policy proposals brought before parliament.

Papadopoulos pointed to previous legislative cooperation on key issues, including tax reform and migration policy, saying these had already been advanced through parliamentary majorities with similar ideological positions.

Asked whether the absence of Edek and Dipa from parliament could create difficulties for the government in the short term, Papadopoulos described their failure to enter the House as “unfair”, noting that both parties had missed the threshold by only a few hundred votes.

“Their contribution over many years to Cypriot society and political life has been constructive,” he said.

He added that the government would continue working with both parties even from outside parliament, saying cooperation remains central to President Nikos Christodoulides’ political approach, particularly with parties that support the government programme.

On the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle in the coming period, Papadopoulos said any such decision rests solely with the President.

“It is the exclusive prerogative of the President of the Republic, and he will decide,” he said.

المصدر: Cyprus Mail