The Economist has published an articled entitled “A new team at the helm” where the author assessed that despite the recent cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras may not be able to elect a new President in February.
The author begins by explaining how Mr. Samaras recently carried out a cabinet reshuffle in response to the defeat his party suffered in the recent elections, stressing that the newly-appointed Minister of Finances Gikas Hardouvelis has a long of measures to implement in order to support growth.
While the author praises Mr. Samaras for the strategic appointments in critical Ministries (such as Mr. Dendias transfer from the Public Order Ministry to the Ministry of Growth), there are concerns that the Ministries not under the strict supervision of the troika may suffer from “adjustment fatigue”, causing further delays in implementation, which in turn may lead to further aid packages and austerity.
As such, the Economist doubts whether Mr. Samaras will be able to attract enough independent MPs in order to elect a new President in February, since he will not have the necessary 180-seat majority in Parliament to support a candidate.
