Palace downplays schism between Keravnos and Diko

The presidential palace sought on Friday to calm a public dispute between Diko leader Nicholas Papadopoulos and Finance Minister Makis Keravnos, with a meeting between the two left open once President Nikos Christodoulides returns from New York. Speaking to CyBC, deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou rejected the suggestion of two feuding power bases within the administration. There is only one government,” he said, stressing it was bound by the decisions of the cabinet and the president’s will. His comments followed Papadopoulos’s latest intervention, in which the Diko leader called on Christodoulides to clarify the finance minister’s role and asked whether “there are two governments”. Related Articles • Diko boss questions whether Cyprus has ‘two governments’ • Our View: Diko has a point. Maybe the finance minister should resign • Disy backs Diko over Keravnos stance on GSI • Keravnos ‘not sure if Papadopoulos realises I am’ a Diko member • Papadopoulos on 2028 election: Diko does not give blank cheques to anyone Papadopoulos said the disagreements extended beyond the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) to pensions, provident funds affected by the 2013 haircut, depositors who suffered losses, and state grants to municipalities. The row erupted on Sunday, when Papadopoulos asked in an interview why Keravnos did not resign if he disagreed with the president’s position on advancing the interconnector. Keravnos said he had no intention of resigning, remarking that it was for the president to decide whether any minister remained in government. Antoniou acknowledged the disagreements but sought to frame them as a “standard facet of political life”. Diko parliamentary spokesman Panicos Leonidou has already sought to ease the tension and is expected to raise the matter with the president once he returns. Antoniou said he understood Papadopoulos had been in contact with Christodoulides, though he did not divulge the details of their conversation. Asked whether the confrontation risked a definitive break between the palace and Diko, Antoniou denied such a schism, describing relations between the two sides as “healthy”. He pointed to Diko’s role as a key source of parliamentary support for the government and noted that party figures sit in the cabinet. He rejected suggestions of government “double speak” or a divided policy line, saying the finance minister acted on the basis of cabinet decisions and the governance programme. Keravnos has repeatedly been the most sceptical member of the cabinet on the interconnector, which would link the energy grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel. He has questioned whether the €1.9 billion project would bring down consumer electricity prices and pointed to studies he says demonstrate it is not financially sustainable, along with the European Investment Bank’s earlier decision not to finance it. Earlier this week he said he was “not sure” whether Papadopoulos realised he was himself a member of Diko, adding that the criticism had not upset him as he was focused on “serious matters which concern the people of this country”. Disy has likewise criticised Keravnos’s handling of the project, saying the government owed the public “specific and convincing answers” and accusing the finance minister of an “unacceptable tone” that undermined the scheme. The party said Cyprus could not afford to see the project mishandled and called on the government to “speak clearly” and take responsibility for its decisions. Christodoulides has maintained there is no internal division within the government, saying the administration continues to support the “strategic goal” of the interconnector.