June 17, 2011
Greece's prime minister made a radical reshuffle of his government on Friday, appointing a party rival to run the economy in an effort to quell anger on the streets and dissent within his own party over austerity measures.
The reshuffle, two days after Athens erupted in violent protest, aimed to rally support for deeply unpopular policies now viewed as vital if Greece is not to default on its debt and plunge Europe into financial chaos. "We will prevail and we will hold on," said George Papandreou, ahead of announcing his new cabinet after night-long negotiations.
"We have as a country in the past successfully faced major crises. As hard as this struggle is, we cannot run away from our fight. We will fight and we will win, for Greece, its people and the future of the new generations," he said.
Evangelos Venizelos's surprise elevation to finance minister was interpreted as a last-ditch attempt by the prime minister to unite his increasingly fractious socialist party. The burly former defence minister had challenged Papandreou for the leadership of Pasok in 2007.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment