Cabinet reshuffle on the horizon
Given that cases of the coronavirus are on a slow but steady decline and the vaccination campaign has begun, the conditions are seen to have fallen into place for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to consider a reset, which would include a cabinet reshuffle.
Bearing this in mind, announcements could even be made within the next seven days. What is certain this time is that, in contrast to the summer, Mitsotakis wants his move to be unexpected and for this reason he is only discussing the issue with his very close associates.
Tellingly, Kathimerini understands the reshuffle issue was not even raised in the closed morning session that took place on Monday.
According to sources, Mitsotakis is leaning toward changing a significant part of the cabinet, about a third of the ministers.
Anything more than a third would be seen as an admission that the current government has fallen short of its objectives, which is not the case, as the general consensus is that the current setup has fared relatively well given the circumstances.
Therefore, there are several ministries that are not expected to see changes, such as Defense, Shipping, Culture, Citizens’ Protection and Digital Governance, while in other cases the transfer of ministers to other portfolios is being considered.
According to sources, the changes planned by the prime minister do not include, in the current phase, new openings to the center-left of the political spectrum, but a shift in the party, with the use of party MPs. Christos Tarantilis, Theodoros Roussopoulos, Spilios Livanos, the three international relations experts Dimitris Keridis, Tassos Hatzivassiliou and Angelos Syrigos all belong to this category, as well as MPs representing large constituencies such as Kostas Katsafados in Piraeus.
The rest of the changes will depend on the course of the campaign to vaccinate the country’s population. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas referred on Monday of a twofold endeavor for people to observe the measures and remain optimistic.
