Our View: What is the point of the National Council?

If anything marked the meeting of the national council on Monday, it was its low-key nature. It proved a non-event, raising the question of why President Nikos Christodoulides called it in the first place. Considering the Cyprus problem, which is the sole reason for the existence of the advisory body, is deadlocked, what was the point of inviting the party leaders for a meeting?

Before the meeting, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the president would brief the party leaders about the “results of the contacts in Brussels, where he attended the European Council. He would also brief them about his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that produced nothing apart from a few platitudes.

There has been no breakthrough in the Cyprus problem, no invitation to a meeting and no indication of a resumption of talks. All that emerged from the meeting with Guterres was Christodoulides’ version of what was said, conveyed by Letymbiotis with the obligatory positive spin. The UNSG was reportedly working on the lines for a resumption of talks that met with the approval of the president.

In short, there was no reason for the national council to meet, which may explain why discussion, according to reports, ended up talking about the consequences of the Iran war on the economy and the ‘relief measures’ that should be introduced by the government. Some proposals of the party leaders, proposals that had already been made public, were discussed at the meeting, with more expected over the next few days.

The theatre of the national council continues even now that its raison d’etre, the Cyprus problem, is no longer an issue for anyone. This is why the leader, supposedly, discussed their proposals for propping up the economy and helping households. Did the president really need the advice of the party leaders for the relief measures that do not even need the approval of the legislature, as they are implemented by government decision?

No, he did not. Deciding relief measures is the exclusive responsibility of the government, which knows the state of public finances. How much money will be spent and on what is for the executive to decide as it is the executive that has the authority to make these decisions. The consent of the party leaders is not necessary, especially during a parliamentary election campaign, when they would be inclined to be over generous with their proposals.

That Christodoulides gave the party leaders a say about relief measures, to keep the theatre of the national council going, was a mistake. He does not need party support for government measures and nobody needs the theatre of the national council, which has rarely, if ever, made a positive contribution to politics, to continue. It has served its limited purpose and it should now be wound down.