Greece’s cabinet sworn in following conservatives’ win

ATHENS: Greece’s new Cabinet was sworn in on Tuesday, two days after conservative party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis won early elections on pledges to make the country more business-friendly, cut taxes and negotiate an easing of draconian budget conditions agreed as part of the country’s rescue programme.

The new Cabinet relies heavily on experienced politicians who have served in previous governments, but also includes non-politician technocrats considered experts in their fields. The crucial post of finance minister went to Christos Staikouras, an economist and engineer who comes with the experience of having served as deputy minister during the financial crisis under a previous government.

“Our central aim is to create the conditions for a high and sustainable development with healthy public finances and a stable banking sector,” Staikouras said during the handover of the ministry from his predecessor, Euclid Tsakalotos.

“We will go ahead with relieving the tax burden on households and businesses,” Staikouras said. “We will promote production, productivity, competitiveness, quality, adaptability and an outward looking approach of our economy.”

The new government’s promise for lowering taxes, and calls to ease the strict budget targets, was bluntly rejected by Greece’s creditors during the bailout year, even before the country had formed its new government.

Finance ministers from the 19 European Union countries that use the euro currency met in Brussels on Monday evening and insisted key budget targets must be adhered to.

“Commitments are commitments, and if we break them, credibility is the first thing to fall apart. That brings about a lack of confidence and investment,” Mario Centeno, president of the so-called Eurogroup, said after the meeting.

Greece depended for years on rescue loans from other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund in return for deep reforms to the country’s economy that included steep tax hikes and major spending cuts. The price was heavy as unemployment and poverty levels soared in the country.