27th January 2015 15:46 clock

The new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (l.) and Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis

The new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (l.) and Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis | © Giannis Liakos / intime News / AP / dpa

Two days after his election victory, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has appointed his cabinet. The responsibility for Finance, he gave economists Giannis Dragasakis (66) and Giannis Varoufakis (53). Both are considered harsh critics of austerity and see a haircut as the only solution for the reduction of € 320 billion huge debt mountain of Greece.

Varoufakis is as finance future conduct negotiations with international donors, such as a government spokesman said. Dragasakis is as Deputy Prime Minister having oversight over the entire range of Finance and Economics and also participate in the negotiations with donors.

Tsipras’ leftist SYRIZA formed a coalition government with the right-wing populist party Independent Greeks ( Anel). Their chief Panos Kammenos, who sat in the previous parliamentary defense committee, is now the new defense minister. Also Kammenos had made an end of austerity the dominant theme in the election campaign.

Secretary of State is a technocrat, politics professor at the University of Piraeus, Nikos Kotzias. This head of government Tsipras would signal that he wanted to go smooth lines in foreign policy issues, it said in Athens.

In the 53-year-old Varoufakis the difficult negotiations with donors come – the troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – to. A debt relief as well as a mitigating the austerity measures are among the main destinations of Tsipras’ government.

On Friday is Euro group boss Jeroen Dijsselbloem in Athens, to guide initial discussions. The Euro finance ministers have so far show no willingness to debt relief. But Berlin signaled openness for further assistance after expiring in February rescue program.