Political opposition criticised the government on Wednesday, after a 0.4 per cent decrease was noted in a European statistical service (EuroStat) report on the second quarter of the year.
According to the flash estimate, seasonally adjusted GDP in Cyprus dropped by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, compared with the previous quarter, but was up by 2.3 per cent on an annual basis.
GDP had increased by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the fourth quarter of 2022.
Compared with the second quarter of 2022, Cyprus GDP increased by 2.3 per cent during the second quarter of this year. GDP had increased by 3.2 per cent during the first quarter of the year compared with the first quarter last year.
However, former finance minister Constantinos Petrides weighed in on the drop saying that “this needs to cause concern to the government and the (responsible and irresponsible) opposition.”
He added that aside from the Covid-19 pandemic, Cyprus had not seen a drop in GDP since 2014.
“Negative GDP, or a significant slowdown, usually precedes any crisis as it did in 2003 (a stock market crash that caused a significant shift in wealth) and 2009,” he said.
He said that a negative GDP would affect government income, especially in relation to public finances, debt and state evaluations.
Meanwhile, opposition MP and former Disy party leader Averof Neophytou called for the state to take measures and not “populism”.
“The economy needs serious actions and not just an image,” he said.