European Institute

A UCL Laws alumnus was elected President of Cyprus on Sunday 24 February.

It was a clear victory: President  Nicos Anastasiades took 57.5 percent of the vote, 15 points ahead of his rival Stavros Malas, who campaigned on an anti-austerity platform. The Guardian commented that: “With the ex-British colony facing financial meltdown in the wake of the huge losses sustained by its banking system when Greece restructured its debt, the election had assumed a significance not seen since independence in 1960. Foreign lenders at the EU and IMF had hoped Anastasiades would win, seeing the 66-year-old lawyer as a pair of safe hands in what could be tortuous times ahead as both try to finalise a rescue programme to keep the island's recession-hit economy afloat.”