Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said that fragmentation is a pan-European phenomenon and is not unique to Cyprus.
“I’m not worried; I believe these are part of democracy, and the democratic system has a way of self-regulating in the end. This government was not supported by major parties in parliament anyway,” he told POLITICO in an interview on May 23. “What matters is for a government to act rationally, to act as the government of all Cypriots.”
Cyprus — which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU until the end of June — has a presidential system of government and the 56-seated parliament holds limited powers.
The vote is widely seen as a benchmark of political trends ahead of the 2028 presidential election and flags the new alliances President Nikos Christodoulides may need to make if he decides to run for a second term as is widely expected.
“This marks the end of an era for political parties that have been part of the political scene for 50 years,” said Harry Tzimitras, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo Cyprus Centre. “Traditional parties have lost ground to new political movements that seem to enjoy broad popular support.”
“It will become even harder for the government to pass legislations in parliament. There is already an ongoing public debate over whether the National Council — the body where the Cyprus issue is discussed — should be suspended or even abolished,” he added.