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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Graeme Wearden and Nick Fletcher

Alexis Tsipras's new Greek cabinet is sworn in, as bank shares slide - live updates

Alexis Tsipras arriving for today's cabinet swearing-in
Alexis Tsipras arriving for today’s cabinet swearing-in Photograph: Neritan 1

Summary

Time for a quick summary.

Alexis Tsipras has formed his government, and his ministers have been sworn in and are off to work (coverage of the ceremony starts from here). Our leaked list of the cabinet positions is here and official confirmation is here.

But even before the swearing in, the new government has opened up a row with Brussels, saying a strongly worded statement on Russia did not have the consent of the new Greek prime minister.

Greek banks shares have fallen back on concerns about a lengthly row between the country and its lenders over its financial position. The main Athens market has ended 3.6% lower.

On that note it’s time to close up for the evening. Thanks for all your comments and we’ll be back again tomorrow.

Analysis: Who are the new Greek government

The Open Europe think tank has taken a look at the new Greek government, and notes that academics have been given several key posts:

Some have criticised the choice of academics over those with more practical experience. Given the fairly rapid rise of Syriza, though, we would note that few within its ranks have any practical experience of governing. Also, in politics plenty of senior ministers approach new posts with little first-hand knowledge of their brief.

Apart from the obvious disagreements about the bailout, another source of tension between the new Greek government and the rest of the EU could be Russia:

Over the past year, Tsipras voiced his support for Russia and his concerns over the European approach to the Ukraine crisis. Two Greek officials told The Wall Street Journal that a strongly-worded statement on Russia issued by EU leaders earlier today did not have the consent of the new Prime Minister. Not a promising start, and tensions may well increase should the moment come to decide on further EU sanctions against Moscow.

The government has been formed quickly however, with the two unlikely partners ready to compromise:

Coalition negotiations between Syriza and the Independent Greeks have been incredibly quick. According to Kathimerini, the Independent Greeks have agreed to back Syriza’s economic plans. In return, Syriza will hold off on issues that its coalition partner sees as controversial – such as the separation between the Orthodox Church and the State, and the agreement on a composite name for Macedonia.

Even the vote for a new president - which was the trigger for the fall of the Samaras government when it failed to muster enough support for its chosen candidate - could go smoothly:

The reported choice of Dimitris Avramopoulos, Greece’s current EU Commissioner, as the new government’s candidate for President is also a sign of wanting things to progress quickly. Being from New Democracy, the party of outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, he is unlikely to see much resistance from the opposition. Clearly, Tsipras seems willing to sacrifice the (largely ceremonial) post of President to ensure the voting process does not hold up the work of parliament for too long.

Unsurprisingly, the new government will prioritise action on the economy. Reports suggest the first measure will be a bill to raise the minimum wage to €751 per month, followed by another one to facilitate the settlement of tax arrears.

The full report is here:

Meet the new Greek government

Updated

I didn’t catch this myself, but blogger Irate Greek reckons Greece’s new finance minister told a reporter outside the presidential parliament that he’ll see Mario Draghi, ECB chief, on Friday.

Alexis Tsipras has finally taken control of the official prime ministerial twitter account; he’s properly in charge.

His first tweet contains the oath he took yesterday, promising to uphold the Constitution and always serve the interests of the Greek people.

Greek bank shares have fallen heavily today, as investors in Athens fear a lengthy clash with the rest of the eurozone over Greece’s debts.

Greec’s three largest lenders, National Bank of Greece, Piraeus and Eurobank Ergasias, all tumbled by around 12%. The main ATG index closed 3.7% lower.

Germany’s Der Spiegel reports that Alexis Tsipras wasn’t even left the password for the Wi-Fi at the prime ministerial residence.

That’s on top of the soap, computers and paperwork vanishing too, according to local media.

One staff told the paper:

We sit in the dark. We have no internet, no emails, no way to communicate with each other.

Updated

Just to clarify one point - today’s ceremony included many junior ministers, as well as the cabinet ministers.

Surprise!

The newly-sworn in cabinet are now heading out of the presidential palace, and off to work.

And with that, it’s done:

Signing in ceremony ends
Signing in ceremony ends
Signing in ceremony ends
Signing in ceremony ends

Correction. Reader John Matzavrakos flags up that the religious ceremony was actually conducted by Bishop Methoni, the Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Athens.

Not Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens as I wrote. Apologies all. GW

Updated

Greece’s first blind cabinet minister, Panagiotis Koroumblis, has signed. He’s taking over the health ministry.

Panagiotis Koroumblis
.

Yanis Varoufakis is sworn in:

Yanis Varoufakis is sworn in
Yanis Varoufakis
Yanis Varoufakis is sworn in
Yanis Varoufakis
Yanis Varoufakis is sworn in
Yanis Varoufakis

Ministers are now taking it in turns to sign the official paperwork. This might take a while....

Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in
Tsipras at the swearing in

Greek ministers taking a civil ceremony
Greek ministers taking the civil oath Photograph: Neritan 1

And now it’s the turn of the other ministers to take a civil oath -- a rather larger group, maybe thirty? (there are 40 ministers in all).

The ministers taking the oath are making the sign of the cross.

Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in

Greek ministers are sworn in.
Greek ministers are sworn in. Photograph: Neritan 1

The ministers are placing their hands on the Holy Bible now....

Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in

Bishop Klimis of Methoni leading the ceremony, along with two priests, who are intoning the ceremony now. (corrected)

Updated

Greece’s president Papoulias has arrived, and the ceremony is starting now.

As explained earlier, the ceremony will be in two parts - a religious oath, and a civil one.

Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in
Ministers being sworn in

Updated

Greek cabinet swearing-in begins

After a long wait, the swearing-in is underway.

A group of ministers are gathering to take a religious oath:

Swearing in underway
Swearing in underway Photograph: Neritan 1

The new Greece government has opened up a row with Brussels about Russian sanctions, even before the cabinet was sworn in.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

A toughly worded statement on Russia issued Tuesday by European Union heads of governments didn’t have the consent of Greece’s new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, according to two Greek officials.

“The statement does not have Greece’s consent,” a government official said. The official added that the Greek government will put out a statement later saying the European Council, the body which issued the statement, didn’t follow the correct procedure to win Athens’ consent.

Updated

A small crowd has gathered outside the presidential palace to welcome the new ministers after they’ve been sworn into office.

Presidential palace guards salute as Alexis Tsipras and colleagues enter:

Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras

Updated

There are 39 cabinet members in total, of whom six are women.

Vice president Giannis Dragasakis, who will have oversight of economic affairs takes that number up to 40.

There are 10 ministries + 3 extra ministers with portfolios such as cracking down on tax evasion (see earlier post for the key roles).

Cabinet swearing-in gets underway, in 2 parts

Alexis Tsipras just entered the presidential palace for the swearing in ceremony to rapturous applause from onlookers (Helena Smith reports from Athens).

The ceremony, for the first time ever will take place in two instalments:for those who want to take the oath of office in a religious ceremony, and those who like Tsipras himself yesterday, prefer a civil service in the presence of the country’s head of state Karolos Papaoulias.

Much being made about new economics tsar Yanis Varoufakis’ dress style (photos here). He is wearing a leather jacket for the swearing in ceremony. Mobbed by reporters as he entered the presidential palace by reporters he said:

“Negotiations have already begun with our creditors but not with the troika.”

The radical left Syriza party has been adamant that it will not have dealings with officials that have represented the country’s triumvirate of lenders at the EU, ECB and IMF but ministers.

Greece’s new Health Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis, who will be among those taking part in the religious service, told reporters:

“Our priorities at the health ministry will be about protecting the uninsured. There are 3 million uninsured in our we want to ensure that there is equality of health.”

Alexis Tsipras arrives for the swearing in:

Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras

Yanis Varoufakis
Yanis Varoufakis

Yanis Varoufakis
Yanis Varoufakis

Journalists swarmed around Greece’s new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, as he arrived for the swearing in:

Yanis Varoufakis
.

Greek cabinet ministers arriving
Greek cabinet ministers arriving for the swearing in Photograph: Neritatn 1

Greek ministers arriving for swearing-in ceremony
.

Greece’s new cabinet are heading to the presidential palace for the swearing-in ceremony.....

Greece’s new State Minister, Nikos Pappas, left the PM’s office clutching a folder after being told he was included in Tsipras’s cabinet.

New State Minister Nikos Pappas holds a folder as he leaves the Prime Minister's office to name the new cabinet in Athens on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015.
.

This photoshopped image of the former Greek prime minister leaving office is doing the rounds on social media:

As mentioned this morning, Alexis Tsipras arrived at the PM’s residence to find the computers, paperwork and bathroom soap has all been removed, apparently by Antonis Samaras’s staff.

Updated

The selloff in Athens continues....

Yanis Varoufakis will have the formidable Nantia Valavani and Kostas Mardas as deputy finance ministers.

Mardas, an economics professor, will be in charge of taxation policies. Syriza has said, repeatedly, it has “big fig” tax evaders in its sights. Valavani, a Syriza MP and prolific writer/translator is also a respected economist, Helena Smith reports.

Cabinet announced: instant reaction

The Greek stock market is now down 5%, from 3% earlier.

That’s not all Tsipras-related; disappointing corporate results from US construction giant Caterpillar have hit markets around the globe.

The New Greek government is official.

“The first cabinet meeting takes place tomorrow,” said Nikos Pappas who announced the government line up (see our leaked list)

The new cabinet will be sworn in later today.

Tsipras, despite widespread rumour that he would, did not reveal the identities of the new ministers himself but left it to his former chief of staff and newly installed minister of state Nikos Pappas.

Skai News warns Greeks to buckle up:

“All the difficulties begin now,”

“In the next two months the state faces 4bn in maturing debt repayments.”

(via Helena Smith)

Confirmation that Nikos Kotzias, European Studies Professor at University of Piraeus, is the new Greek Foreign Minister.

More snaps:

Tsipras announces new cabinet

HERE COMES THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.

The new Greek cabinet is being announced now. There’s confirmation that Yanis Varoufakis is the finance minister.

Professor Giannis Dragasakis is becoming deputy prime minister (as we reported an hour ago).

And .....Independent Greek leader Panos Kammenos gets defence.

More to follow....

We’re hearing that Elena Koundoura will head the ministry of tourism, meaning there will be two women in the government.

Coalition row delays cabinet announcement.....

A quick update on what has postponed an otherwise speedily created cabinet in Athens this morning.

Our correspondent Helena Smith reports that there is an early hiccup in the uneasy power-sharing arrangement behind the “war cabinet” that will take on the debt-crippled country’s creditors.

Turns out that much of the delay is down to discord over whether Nikos Nikolopoulos, the president of the conservative Greek Christian-Democratic party, should be included in the government as Panos Kammenos, who leads the government’s junior partner, had wanted.

Syriza had baulked when the request was made.

Regular readers will recall that Nikolopoulos was at the centre of an embarrassing twitter war when he greeted the news of the Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel marrying his gay partner thus: “From a Europe of nation states to a Europe of ... faggots!! The prime minister of Luxemburg is engaged with his darling!!”

Bettel replied calmly to the offensive tweet:

“Hello, I heard you want to tell me something, but I don’t speak Greek. Sorry”.

Nikolopoulos was subsequently bombarded with criticism – but he taps into the socially conservative views of the Greek public and The Independent Greeks party had lobbied hard to include him.

It now appears that Syriza has come out on top and Nikolopoulos will not have a post in the new government.

Updated

Not long now!......

Helena Smith: Tsipras pares back Greek government, as promised

.
Newly appointed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras .

Greece’s new radical left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has made good on his promise to pare back government.

He has establishment TEN ministries - and four super-ministries [leaked details are here], a feat achieved overnight and one that starkly illuminates the failure of previous Greek governments to act on pledges to reform ministry structure, (writes Helena Smith).

Commentators, however, saying that the big question now is whether this new structure will work effectively and bring the collectivity and efficiency that the party has hoped.

Yanis Varoufakis’ appointment to the finance ministry (with the British-educated Euclid Tsakalotos as his deputy) is being received positively among Greek watchers.

Dr George Kyris, lecturer in politics at Birmingham University has just told Helena that it highlights the party’s shift in policy on issues economic.

“While often very confrontational, Varoufakis might well provide a very good example of how Syriza has adjusted and has become more moderate, something which, after all, could be seen as a reason for its victory in Last Sunday’s elections.”

Panagiotis Koroumblis
Panagiotis Koroumblis MP, speaking to demonstrators in Syntagma Square Photograph: http://www.demotix.com/

The blind MP Panagiotis Koroumblis is going to be Greece’s first-ever minister with a disability.

He is being appointed to the helm of the health ministry, likely to be one of the government’s most sensitive sectors, Helena Smith points out.

Greek bank stocks are hitting fresh lows:

Another rumour.... Yannis Panoussis may get Ministry of Protection of the Citizen.

And there’s chatter that a second women could be added to the list, as well as Zoe Konstantopolou.

Marina Chrysoveloni, spokesman of the populist right wing Independent Greeks party, junior partner in coalition government, has just confirmed that the new cabinet will be sworn in at 5 PM “or just before.” (that’s 3pm GMT)

Helena reports:

“The appointment of Panos Kammenos [the party’s leader] to the defence ministry is a fact,” she told Skai news.

“We have our red lines and are bound to them through commitments we have made to the Greek people,” she said mentioning “illegal migrants” (a bogey word to the radical leftists) and debt in the same sentence.

“It is obvious that the debt is not sustainable and there has to be a write-down and that we have to negotiate it with our partners”

One last-minute change to that list....Zoe Konstantopoulou is going to assume the presidency of the parliament, so Nikos Voutsis gets the Interior Ministry brief.

Greek cabinet: The details

The new government line-up is expected to be announced imminently.

But our correspondent Helena Smith has already heard the details from government insiders. Here’s the list (not official, and subject to last-minute change).

  • Development Ministry (super ministry that will include oversight of shipping and tourism industries) - Economics professor Giorgos Stathakis
  • Finance Ministry: Yanis Varoufakis, Deputy Ministry Euclid Tsakalotos
  • Interior Ministry - Zoi Konstantopoulou Nikos Voutsis .
  • Superministry that will include environment portfolio - Panagiotis Lafazanis (heads Syriza’s euro sceptic Left Platform) ; Deputy minister Yannis Tsironis from Greens party
  • Culture Ministry and education - still undecided if the eminent sociologist Constantine Tsoukalas or Aristidies Baltas will assume the education portfolio and Nikos Xydakis, a former journalist/political commentator will assume the culture portfolio
  • Health Ministry - the blind MP Panoghiotis Kouroumblis
  • Vice President with oversight of economic affairs - Professor Giannis Dragasakis
  • Foreign ministry Professor Nikos Kotzias, deputy foreign minister in charge of European affair, MEP Nikos Hountis
  • Labour Ministry - ex Syriza spokesman Panos Skourletis
  • Justice Ministry with oversight of Panaghiotis Nikoloudis (president of authority in charge of money laundering).

And Independent Greeks party leader Panos Kammenos is expected to gets the defense ministry.

Helena explains:

If that is the case, it would be considered a sop to the nationalist constituency given the populist right win party’s eurosceptic take on foreign affairs.

Kammenos, memorably, described Europe as being governed by “German neo-Nazis” last week and has made all manner of anti-Semitic remarks. The party’s inclusion in the government is already sending shudders through the Far Left camp of euro MPs which includes Germany’s Die Linke in Brussels.

Updated

Details of the Greek cabinet are starting to leak out:

<drum roll.....> Alexis Tsipras’s new Greek cabinet is expected to be announced very soon:

Merkel sends Tsipras a telegram

Angela Merkel has avoided an awkward conversation with Greece’s new prime minister, by sending him a telegram of congratulation.

In it, Germany’s chancellor tells Alexis Tsipras:

“You’re taking over your office in a difficult time in which you face a great responsibility,”

“I hope to be able to firm up and deepen with you the traditionally good and deep friendship between our peoples.

“I wish you lots of strength and success in your future work as prime minister.”

(via Reuters)

Updated

Readers trying to get their head around why a radical left-wing party like Syriza would team up with a populist right-wing group like Independent Greeks should read this blogpost, by blogger Irate Greek:

Strange bedfellows

Here’s a flavour:

The fact that SYRIZA chose to join forces with Independent Greeks is extremely revealing. A left-wing, democratic party that defends basic liberties and human rights has essentially no other option, in order to govern with an anti-austerity agenda, than to join forces with a racist, ultra-conservative right-wing party whose mentality belongs in the dungeons of history.

This is extremely revealing of how screwed up (for lack of a better word) the Greek political scene has become over the past few years, and it is an issue that must be urgently addressed.

Moody's: Greek election result is credit negative

Syriza’s victory has raised the risks of that Greece will be downgraded, rating agency Moody’s has warned.

In a new report, Moody’s said the election outcome Is “Credit Negative Because It Prolongs Financing, Liquidity and Economic Growth Risks”.

It warned that:

Syriza’s position is in direct opposition to the Troika and will make negotiations for renewing the programme very challenging when the current agreement with the European Commission expires on 28 February.

Moody’s estimates that Greece needs to repay €16bn to repay the IMF, ECB and other official sector creditors. It also has to roll over more than €10bn of short-term debt (called T-bills).

Moody's: greek bond yields
Greece’s 10-year bond yields since the crisis began Photograph: Moody's

Moody’s concludes:

All in all, we expect that the policy uncertainty and the reduced liquidity in the economy will weigh on Greece’s economic growth.

Following an expansion of the Greek economy for the first time since 2007 last year (which we estimate at around 0.6%), we currently forecast real growth at slightly above 1% this year. However, we see significant downside risks because we expect investment and consumption levels to remain low and to be further dampened by the political and policy uncertainty associated with this election outcome.

Updated

Here’s Jon Henley on the news that Yanis Varoufakis is getting the keys to the finance ministry:

Varoufakis, 53, studied in Britain and has also taught in Australia, Greece and the US. In pre-election interviews he promised to end what he described as Greece’s humanitarian crisis, slice a chunk off its €320bn debt mountain, and destroy the country’s oligarchs who “viciously suck the energy and the economic power from everybody else”.

A prolific blogger and media commentator who dresses in brightly coloured shirts and jeans, Varoufakis – who has dual Greek and Australian nationality – abandoned a job at the University of Texas to join Tsipras’s team in the election runup, and celebrated Sunday’s result by paraphrasing Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, saying: “Greek democracy today chose to stop going gently into the night. Greek democracy resolved to rage against the dying of the light.”

New Greek PM Alexis Tsipras appoints radical economist to new government

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads up the eurogroup of finance ministers, will meet the new Greek government on Friday, his spokesman says.

That could be a lively meeting, given Yanis Varoufakis has condemned austerity as ‘fiscal waterboarding’.

Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis.
.

Yanis Varoufakis has pledged to keep blogging his views on the Greek economy once he becomes finance minister (later today).

In a new post, called Finance Ministry slows blogging down but ends it not, he says:

The time to put up or shut up has, I have been told, arrived. My plan is to defy such advice. To continue blogging here even though it is normally considered irresponsible for a Finance Minister to indulge in such crass forms of communication. Naturally, my blog posts will become more infrequent and shorter. But I do hope they compensate with juicier views, comments and insights.

For hope to be revived we must all strive to change the ways of a dismal past. Maintaining an open line with the outside world may be a small step in that direction.

So, keep watching this space!

The Greek stock market is in retreat today, adding to yesterday’s falls.

The main Athens stock market has lost another 3%. Bank shares are leading the fallers:

Greek stock market, biggest fallers, January 27 2015
Greek stock market, biggest fallers, January 27 2015 Photograph: Thomson Reuters

Other European markets are much more muted; Greece is not, yet, causing a panic on the trading floors.

The latest cabinet rumours....

From Athens, freelance journalist Omaira Gill is tweeting the latest cabinet speculation:

Some of these names are new to UK readers (and bloggers!); Greek readers could give us their opinions in the comments below (or by email: graeme.wearden@theguardian.com )

Rumours continue to swirl that Independent Greek leader Panos Kammenos will become Greece’s new defence minister.

Some Syriza supporters are appalled by Kammenos’s strident views on immigrations, even before his claim that “Jews don’t pay taxes”. That’s why some analysts fear this coalition will be shaky....

Tsipras is expected to announce his cabinet in the early afternoon, once the details have been hammered out.

If there are only 10 ministers, as Syriza tweeted earlier, the new PM must be merging several ministries together....

Updated

Varoufakis: I'm the new finance minister

Economics professor Yanis Varoufakis has confirmed to Irish radio station Newstalk that he’ll be appointed finance minister today:

It hasn’t been announced yet, but since I’m talking to my Irish friends, I might as well concede that this is happening today.

Later on in the afternoon we shall be sworn in.

Adding:

“As the next finance minister, I can assure you that I shall not go into the eurogroup seeking a solution that is good for the Greek taxpayer and bad for the Irish, Slovak, German, French and Italian taxpayer.”

You can hear an audio clip of the interview here.

Updated

The selloff in Greek bonds is picking up pace, forcing up the yields (or interest rates) on its three-year and 10-year debt:

  • 08:54 - GREEK THREE-YEAR BOND YIELDS HIT DAY’S HIGH OF 13.81 PERCENT, UP 178 BPS ON DAY - TRADEWEB
  • 08:55 - GREEK 10-YEAR YIELDS HIT DAY’S HIGH OF 9.73 PERCENT, UP AROUND 50 BPS ON DAY - TRADEWEB

Investors are getting edgier.....

Yanis Varoufakis will be a formidable opponent for those eurozone ministers who insist Greece cannot renegotiate its debt deal, predicts Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Daily Telegraph:

Economics professor and blogger Yanis Varoufakis has dropped an extremely heavy hint that he is Greece’s new finance minister (as expected) - by republishing a profile from the Telegraph onto his own blog:

Varoufakis is quite a character. We reported last night:

John Maynard Keynes with a hint of Karl Marx is how one analyst described the self-proclaimed “accidental economist” who is now to become Greece’s finance minister and a key negotiator with its international creditors.

He’s certainly experienced - having taught in Australia, Greece and the United States, and he’s shown a very firm grip on the damage that austerity has caused to Greece’s economy, and society.

Profile: Greece’s new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis

Greek government bonds are falling in value this morning, as the prospect of a battle over debt restructuring looms over the markets.

The yield, or interest rate, on Greek 10-year bonds has jumped to 9.6%, from around 9.2% last night. That means the debt is seen as riskier (yields rise when the value of a bond falls)

Such yields are also unaffordably high; typically a eurozone country has sought a bailout when yields soared through 7%.

Updated

UK offers to help Greece collect its taxes

David Cameron has offered British assistance to help Greece tighten up its tax collecting operations.

Speaking on the Today Programme, the PM said he spoke with Alexis Tsipras last night to congratulate him on his win.

And while the pair aren’t ideological soulmates, Cameron did offer to share Britain’s experience on tax transparency, and making the rich pay more, with Athens:

That is something we can work with the Greek government on.

The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly urged Athens to get to grips with its tax evasion problem....

...But it’s worth remembering that Britain’s ‘landmark’ tax deal with Switzerland only yielded a fraction of the revenue predicted at the start. Maybe Tsipras could learn from Britain’s mistakes?....

Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble has just told reporters in Brussels that Europe isn’t to blame for Greece’s problems:

  • SCHAEUBLE SAYS GREEK PUBLIC NOT SUFFERING DUE TO BERLIN OR BRUSSELS DECISIONS BUT RATHER DUE TO DECADES OF FAILINGS BY GREEK ELITES

My colleague Phoebe Greenwood is in Athens with a film crew.

She reports that hopes turned to anxiety yesterday as it emerged Syriza was partnering with the populist Independent Greeks:

There’ll only be 10 ministers in Tsipras’s cabinet, Syriza tweets:

Prime minister David Cameron has cited Greece’s problems as a reason for UK voters to stick with him at the next British general election, in 100 days time.

Interviewed on Sky News this morning, Cameron said that the eurozone’s political landscape is undergoing major change.

In Greece, it is reaction to economic failure. The economy is a fifth smaller than before the financial crisis....

The eurozone is a system that is not working properly.

Cameron then argued that the “structural reforms” made in this parliament had helped firms to hire staff and grow; the Bank of England’s active monetary policy was also crucial (something the eurozone is only getting now).

He preached a similar message on the BBC’s sofas:

Radio 4 listeners won’t be able to avoid it either....

Alexis Tsipras has a nasty surprise when he arrived at the prime minister’s headquarters yesterday, the To Vima newspaper reports.

The new government found the Maximos Mansion almost bare, with no sign of computers or paperwork. Even the bathrooms were cleared out.

Tsipras told colleagues that:

“They took everything and left. I was looking for an hour to find soap.”

Here’s the full sorry tale (in Greek).

Alexis Tsipras is expected to start the process of unpicking Greece’s austerity programme quickly, once his cabinet is in place.

His first bill is expected to raise the minimum wage back to €751/month, and to bring back regulations allowing collective wage bargaining.

The second draft law will cut the burden of overdue taxes and social security contributions.

According to the eKathimerini newspaper:

The bill foresees the new payment plans leading to no more than between 20 and 30 percent of taxpayers’ annual income going toward repaying their debts.

Tsipras also wants to end the “mobility scheme” that cut jobs across the civil service, which could see some workers rehired. And he’s also planning legislation to give free electricity to 300,000 households living under the poverty threshold.

Quite a change from the tax rises and spending cuts driven through by the previous government to meet the terms of Greece’s bailout.

Updated

Tsipras to name new cabinet today

The signature of newly apointed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of the Syriza party is seen on an assurance protocol after a swearing in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Athens on January 26, 2015.
The signature of newly appointed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on an assurance protocol after a swearing in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Athens yesterday. Photograph: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Demotix/Corbis

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of events in Greece.

The country’s new government is getting down to business today, as it heads towards a clash with the EU over its debts.

Alexis Tsipras, sworn in as prime minister yesterday, is due to name his cabinet today. That should see prominent economist and blogger Yanis Varoufakis formally named as finance minister, with a mandate to push for a debt restructuring deal.

The government probably won’t be short of economists. Another, Giorgos Stathakis, is expected to be put in charge of the Development Ministry, according to the eKathimerini newspaper. which adds:

SYRIZA’s left wing, or Left Platform, will probably be represented in the government by Panayiotis Lafazanis, Dimitris Stratoulis and Nikos Hountis.

Rania Antonopoulou, the director of the Gender Equality and the Economy program at the Levy Institute, is expected to be appointed to the Labor Ministry, possibly as a deputy to Stratoulis.

The Independent Greeks party is expected to have one ministerial and up to four deputy ministerial positions in the new government. Party leader Kammenos is likely to be named as the new defense minister.

That’s the same Kammenos who was heavily criticised for claiming recently that “Jews, Buddhists and Muslims don’t pay taxes” in Greece....

European finance ministers will be watching Athens nervously today, having heard Tsipras declare that “the end of humiliation has come”. They’re in Brussels this morning for an ECOFIN meeting.

Officially, they’ll be discussing Jean-Claude Juncker’s plan for a €315bn fund to pay for new infrastructure projects across Europe, kick-starting its ailing economy. But the Greek election results will surely be discussed too, in the corridors of the power.

An ECOFIN press conference is due for 13.30pm Brussels time (12.30pm GMT).

We’ll be tracking all the main events through the day again.

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Cinemablend
Fans Have Been Roasting The Rock’s Moana Look, But The ‘Pounds Of Hair’ It Took To Achieve It Don't Sound Fun
This is quite a look.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
The Season 1 Finale Of HBO's Neighbors Is Must-Watch Television For One Big Reason
Stop what you're doing and watch it.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
‘I’m trying to de-escalate. He has a needle in my arm’: Southern California woman goes to tattoo shop. Then the owner asks her something shocking
A woman has sparked discussion online after she called out her tattoo artist for his inappropriate behavior once he learned she was recently single.
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Forget birdwatching, I’m into moth-watching: they’re fascinating and misunderstood insects
According to new research, distinguishing between the UK’s 2,500 species could halt cognitive decline – so my brain could not be happier, or healthier, says science writer Helen Pilcher
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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