Turkish Cypriot opposition party CTP ‘MP’ Ongun Talat on Tuesday described the north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel as a “sultan”, after the latter failed to show up to ‘parliament’ on Monday or Tuesday.

“The problems in this country have piled up like a mountain, and the prime minister, the sultan, is not around, and has not taken the floor. Will he not take any responsibility, and will he not respond?” Talat, whose father is former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, asked.

He said the north is now being “governed by decree” instead of having laws passed through its legislature and added that Ustel is “not interested in social problems”.

“The prime minister is running away from people and the parliament. It is necessary that he come and explain himself to the people,” he said.

‘Education minister’ Nazim Cavusoglu took umbrage with Talat’s statements, insisting that the north’s ruling coalition is “walking towards the future in a contemporary way with this young republic, with Ataturk-based thought, and not with the Ottomans”.

He added that ‘ministers’ can speak on Ustel’s behalf.

“Unal Ustel is very busy due to his own activities. He cannot be here to answer the questions of all of the MPs all of the time,” Deputy leader of Ustel and Cavusoglu’s party the UBP, Sunat Atun said.