Cyprus has voted for Nikos Christodoulides as its new president. The elections can be described as historic in the sense that the traditional centre-right party, the Democratic Rally (DISY), did not manage to break through to the second round with its leader and candidate, Averof Neophytou. Largely, internal party divisions are to blame, given that incumbent DISY president Nikos Anastasiades voiced only lukewarm support for what would nominally be the candidate of his party, while Christodoulides managed to split the DISY vote, being a former party member and popular foreign minister (2018-22) in Anastasiades' administration. The new government will now have to quickly address questions around the future of the island as a whole while economic and social problems loom. For all of these issues, an actively engaging the EU and other players will be crucial.

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