The permanent secretary of the interior ministry, Elikkos Ilias, served from 25 June 2025 until 1 December 2025 also as acting permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defence. He assumed this role following the decision of the Public Service Commission (PSC) to place the then acting permanent secretary, Anna Aristotelous, on leave. After the resignation of the new permanent secretary at the MoD, Emmanuela Lamprianidou, a solution had to be found, given that Mr Ilias was literally exhausted from running two of the country’s largest ministries, both in terms of responsibilities and personnel. The issue reached the Presidential Office, resulting in a solution that, in terms of personnel, is undeniably of high quality. Stelios Kountouris, deputy accountant-general, was appointed by the PSC to perform the duties of permanent secretary of the MoD.
Dr Ilias, immediately after Emmanuela Lamprianidou’s appointment, made significant efforts to convince her to stay; they even visited the Ministry together. However, Ms Lamprianidou remained steadfast. She could not, overnight, move from cultural affairs to taking responsibility for weapons, helmets, equipment, and active service in the Pentadaktylos region.
Cyprus' 'SAFE' deal with France
Tomorrow, the President of the Republic will fly to France for talks with Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by Ms Raouna. The scope of the discussions is broad, but on defence matters they are expected to be significant. Cyprus is moving towards a defence agreement with France and a series of major defence procurements. Of the €1.2 billion Cyprus will receive for SAFE, around €800 million will go to France, according to sources.
Audit office playing dress up
The Auditor-General is sometimes expected to act like Inspector Clouseau. So, the dear Andreas Papaconstantinou put on a wig and went out with staff from the Audit Office to inspect the buses. How do they operate? Does the public feel well-served? As noted in an announcement from the Audit Office: “The Auditor-General wanted to participate personally in the inspection to see how citizens experience public transport, to record an accurate picture, and with the aim of improving public transport.”
A special report is expected from the Audit Office in early 2026 detailing their findings. In the coming months, inspections will also be conducted at the Presidential Office and the House of Representatives. In the first case, the Auditor-General will dress as a member of the presidential guard, and in the second as a messenger for document delivery across different departments of the House. In both cases, he will gain first-hand insight into how the country’s two most important institutions operate.
Balling on the diplomatic ball
Last week, the wives of all diplomats serving in Cyprus received the following message from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
-
Patron: Ms Filippa Carsera-Christodoulides
-
Honorary President: Ms Maria Chatzisolomou-Kompo
Dear members and friends of CDSA,
We inform you that, due to insufficient response to our invitation for the Diplomatic Ball on 12 December, the event will be cancelled. We were required to secure a minimum number of participants, which was not met. Those who have already paid for tickets will, of course, receive a full refund via bank transfer. We wish you a pleasant weekend.
With regards,
Kareen Kakouris, CDSA Acting President
CDSA is the Cyprus Spouses Diplomats Association. Judging by the email, it seems the ladies had no time to attend, despite the event being under the patronage of the First Lady, Filippa Carsera, and supported by the Honorary President, Ms Kompo, as well as the President, Ms Kakouris. A small note: the term spouse is neutral and includes both male and female partners. This is relevant as half of the ambassadors in Cyprus are women, some accompanied by their husbands.
Best agriculture minister ever?
Why does EDEK remain in government? Both the Anastasiou-Hannides faction and the Sizopoulou-Morfaki faction agree on one thing: Christodoulides is exploiting the party ruthlessly. They are mocked to the point of humiliation, but they disagree on how to confront and manage his inappropriate behaviour. The first group believes leaving won’t achieve anything; on the contrary, it could bring further humiliation, as it is uncertain whether the party’s sole minister, Maria Panayiotou, will resign and follow. Therefore, they stay, engage in minor favours until the parliamentary elections. If they do not enter the House, they will reconsider post-election. If they do, Christodoulides has promised a reshuffle, which may include a second ministry.
The second group argues that with EDEK in government, the party will fail to enter the House, so it’s better to preserve dignity and leave now. Who is truly right?
Why did Maria Panayiotou remain at the Ministry of Agriculture despite never being very popular? When the President met with the head of EDEK, Mr Anastasiou, he showed various letters from agricultural organisations vetoing her removal, calling her the best Agriculture Minister ever. What could the President do? Kudos to Maria.
The betrayed collaborators
Three of the four reshuffled ministers openly expressed dissatisfaction with the reshuffle: the former Minister of Commerce, Mr Papanastasiou; the former Minister of Labour, Mr Panayiotou; and the former Deputy Minister of Social Security, Ms Marilena Evangelou. The fourth, Mr Hartsiotis, who left the Ministry of Justice, is also dissatisfied, but due to his appointment as Presidential Commissioner, he is unlikely to express it, despite the significant downgrade. Others, now or later, will voice their concerns to the President.
We are not talking about carols but rather the Song of the Betrayed Collaborator. In particular, Panayiotou and Evangelou were key campaign members for Christodoulides since May 2022, contributing to numerous radio and TV appearances, press articles, and social media posts. Post-reshuffle, Evangelou received online praise for her work and support.
Still explaining what political equality means
What progress can be made on the Cyprus problem if the two leaders cannot issue a clear statement on political equality after their meeting? What does political equality mean under UN resolutions and negotiation frameworks? It means that both communities are politically equal (not necessarily numerically), that Cyprus would be governed by a rotating Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot president, that there would be cross-community voting, and that Turkish Cypriots would have an effective vote on issues affecting their fundamental interests.
These were agreed at Crans-Montana, but last Thursday, Nikos Christodoulides was not ready to confirm them to make the communiqué clearer. Sources say he will not do so unless political equality is immediately linked to guarantees. In other words, Turkish Cypriots gain political equality while guarantees are removed. This approach is not new; it was used by the Anastasiades-Kotzia duo at Crans-Montana, which disrupted the talks at the last minute.
Turkey had agreed that the 1960 guarantee framework was not sustainable and accepted the Aide document for a new security mechanism, to be finalised in the presence of the three guarantor prime ministers. As Tsipras wrote in his book, Anastasiades did not want the prime ministers involved, which disrupted the process. Christodoulides seems to want to attempt a similar manoeuvre today, unless he manages to involve NATO to fundamentally alter the guarantees process.
Holguin's other roles
Ms Maria Angela Holguin is not only involved with the Cyprus problem. She also serves on the boards of Portuguese companies, mainly as a non-executive director of Jerónimo Martins SGPS, S.A. (a major retail, food, and fragrance group) and Mota-Engil SGPS, S.A. (construction and engineering), while holding leadership roles in Portuguese consulting groups such as Kearney Portugal. For such boards, some foreign and finance ministers are highly sought after for their knowledge, contacts, and experience gained during political service.
This article was originally published in the Politis Sunday Edition.