After Alexis Tsipras being sworn in as Prime Minister on Monday evening, the new ministerial cabinet is expected to take its oath by Wednesday morning, before departing for the emergency summit meeting on the refugee and migrant crisis is scheduled in Brussels.
The new Prime Minister appears to be geared towards forming a lean government, with about 25 to 27 ministers, with a broad participation of extra-parliamentary (ie non-political) personalities, after a discussion with his coalition partner, Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos.
As such, some of the larger ministries will break up in order to become more manageable. The Ministry of Growth will break up into three (with Giorgos Stathakis expected to be in charge of one of them). The Ministry of Agricultural Development will become autonomous, as will the Ministries of Migration Policy and Infrastructure, with the aim being to avoid any overlap between ministries.
Dimitris Vitsas will likely be appointed President of Parliament, after Yannis Dragasakis declined the offer. Efforts are being made so that Mr. Dragasakis assumes a supervisor role in the government and to overlook finances. Olga Gerovasili, who was considered for the Ministry of Health, will most likely continue to act as government spokesperson. Meanwhile Panagiotis Kouroumplis will depart from the Ministry of Health, but it has not been decided where he will move.
Euclid Tsakalotos is going to be the new Minister of Finances, while Giorgos Houliarakis is expected to be at the helm of a new Ministry dedicated to the implementation of the Greek program. Nikos Voutsis and Giorgos Katrougalos are expected to carry on as Ministers of Interior and Labor respectively. Furthermore, the caretaker Ministers of Migration Yannis Mouzalas and Shipping Christos Zois are set to remain in office, although Nikos Christodoulakis is unlikely to carry on as Economy Minister.
Finally, from the Independent Greeks, Panos Kammenos will remain in charge of the Ministry of National Defense, while Elena Kountoura will continue as Minister of Tourism.
