Return of familiar faces to Greek government

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS

The cabinet unveiled by re-elected Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras late Tuesday included mostly familiar faces from his previous administration.

The return of figures from Tsipras’ first term suggested a desire for stability as they tackle Greece’s deep-seated economic problems, media commentators suggested.

Euclid Tsakalotos returned as finance minister, a post he held in July and August after predecessor Yanis Varoufakis stood down. His posting will reassure Greece’s creditors as he was central to negotiating the third, 86 billion euro ($95.7 billion), bailout.

He is joined at the ministry by George Chouliarakis, who served as an interim finance minister in the month leading up to this week’s election. Chouliarakis has been appointed alternate finance minister and will remain the country’s chief negotiator.

The government announced the composition of the new government Tuesday night. Ministers will be sworn in Wednesday at the presidential mansion in Athens.

Tsipras, who was first elected in January, called early elections after the Syriza party was split by left-wing defections last month.

The party won more than 35 percent of the vote and renewed its alliance with the right-wing nationalist Independent Greeks, giving Tsipras a mandate to push ahead with the reforms needed to satisfy Greece’s international creditors.

Yannis Dragasakis, a former communist, returns as deputy prime minister overseeing the ministries involved in implementing the bailout deal.

To grapple with the other immediate crisis facing Greece - the huge numbers of refugees and migrants arriving in the country on a daily basis - Tsipras appointed Yiannis Mouzalas, a member of Doctors of the World, as migration minister.

Mouzalas, who has taken part in relief missions around the world, held a post in the interim government and is tasked with dealing with the waves of people crossing Greece to get to the EU’s wealthier western states. More than half-a-million have entered the EU this year, according to the union’s Frontex border agency, with 88,000 crossing Greek borders in August alone.

In the energy ministry, Panos Skourletis keeps his post while George Stathakis retais the economy portfolio.

Other reappointments include Panos Kammenos, the Independent Greeks leader, as defense minister and Nikos Kotzias, another former communist, to lead the foreign ministry.

One of Tsipras’ closest allies, Nikos Pappas, returns as minister of state.