‘A president who must put his foot down from the start’

On February 24, conservative Nikos Anastasiades polled 57.5 per cent of the vote to win the second round of presidential elections, and defeat communist candidate Stavros Malas, who took 42.5 per cent.
When the 66-year-old takes office on March 1, Anastasiades will have to negotiate a bailout for Nicosia with the ECB-EU-IMF troika.
His victory, notes the newspaper, “will be a relief for most EU leaders, including Angela Merkel,” who took a dim view of outgoing communist president, Dimitris Christofias’ bid to strike a deal with Moscow to rescue the island’s beleaguered banks.