About this time last year, Cyprus was going through its most dramatic phase in history, since the Attila invasion. Cyprus was essentially Europe’s guinea pig, where the bank account deposit haircut was enforced as a measure to tackle the crisis, for the first time.
Prior to that we had the Cypriot Parliament’s “No” to the bailout deal the Europeans wanted, which lead to extreme reactions that essentially resulted in the collapse of the Cypriot banking system.
A year later the problems still remain, but the Cypriot economy is in a much better condition, even better than what the creditors had estimated. First of all because despite the expected reactions and disagreements, the political system of Cyprus managed the crisis without extremism and without instilling a climate of divisive conflict. And secondly because despite all the problems and challenges it faced, the Cypriot government decided that the quickest way to overcome the bailout was to implement it.
Obviously conducive to this rationale was the understanding that any other path would have a far greater cost and consequences. Nevertheless, it is important that Cyprus recovered after such a powerful blow and has managed to get back its own two feet. There are still many problems, since the banks are still underperforming, but there are many chances it will make it a lot sooner than expected and the Cypriot economy will regain its lost potential.
The Cypriot leadership’s and people’s determination send a clear messaged that despite the problems and pressure, when a country is united it can overcome everything much better and quicker. It is no coincidence that the troika has recognized the efforts made and has greenlit the continuation of aid, without any prolonged and politically arduous negotiations.
TO VIMA
