New government sworn in Greece

(Vatican Radio) Greece’s new two-party coalition government was sworn in here in Athens today, as observers wondered how previously bitter political foes could work together. The junior partner in the coalition, socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, was named vice premier and foreign minister, upgrading the profile of the socialist party which at this point barely can raise five percent in the opinion polls. Other top socialists were named to fill about a third of the cabinet positions.

The conservative prime minister, Antonis Samaras, told the assembled cabinet members that there was no time to lose in reforming Greece’s economy, and there was now no alternative to working hard to get the country out of crisis. Samaras reshuffled his cabinet yesterday after the small Democratic Left party quit the ruling coalition last week, claiming it was being ignored in the decision-making. Samaras blamed the Democratic Left’s ministers in the cabinet for holding up reforms, especially those having to do with slashing the public sector.

Venizelos’s rise to vice premier and foreign minister came as a surprise to government-watchers here in Athens, who wonder how two political parties that have been rabid opponents for forty years can now join hands. It’s something that even a couple of years ago would have been unthinkable.There were smiles all round in the cabinet room in Athens today, but when the tough decisions have to be made, and soon, most Greeks are curious to see whether Samaras can keep conservatives and socialists in harness together – a tough job that no-one has tried before.

Listen to the report by correspondent John Carr: