The President of the Republic has introduced a new practice: “The annual presentation of the legislative program that the executive authority intends to promote.”
A practice reminiscent of the American State of the Union address.
However, let’s leave aside the American references, which cannot serve as a model for us, especially considering what we have witnessed regarding elections in this country. Let’s focus on our own issues and substance.
Nikos Christodoulides presented himself on Monday night before representatives of various state institutions, from whom he expects cooperation to advance his announcements. Most of what he announced depends on the stance of the parliament.
At the same time, he addressed society, outlining his actions for 2024.
He described 80 actions. He didn’t just set the government’s priorities but described what he would do by the end of the year, setting implementation dates.
He largely outlined a roadmap for implementing what he has announced. It’s not an electoral program but the promotion of policies that will be implemented within the year.
And because he was specific, what he said is recorded and will be checked. And he knows this very well. This will also be his government’s challenge.
It is expected that he will have actions recorded in an “application” and will note throughout the year which ones were completed and which are pending. Obviously, the parties (both in government and opposition) as well as the media will do the same.
This is what accountability entails and imposes. And this time, control is easier since the framework is defined, and the implementation steps are specific.
The overall picture is that the actions aim to improve the daily lives of citizens. Citizens want to see improvements in accuracy, housing, healthcare, the public sector, and traffic.
We witnessed a new practice directly related to accountability. The President has announced institutional reforms, which he described as bold.
He referred to the well-known issue of retirement age and benefits for state officials, an issue on which the government must heed society’s voice, as well as the optimization of the existing legislative framework for professional conflicts of interest.
The institutional reforms announced by the President also include matters concerning the functioning of both the Judiciary and the Audit Service.
What we witnessed is happening for the first time.
The President has raised the bar, the actions are specific, and this new policy will be judged by its results. At the same time, it is clear that the annual presentation should be done in conjunction with submitting the state budget to Parliament.
This is something new, and obviously, one should not rush to judge the announcements or the practice of presentation and the determination of the implementation roadmap that is being adopted.
If the goals are not met, the government and the President of the Republic will be exposed. If they are fulfilled, the winners will be the citizens.
At the same time, those who are certain that the President will fail are obviously “endowed” with prophetic abilities.
They could at least wait to judge by the outcome and not by the announcement. After all, these are actions for 2024.
Patience is needed to judge.
