Conservative politician Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as Greece’s new prime minister on Monday after storming to victory on a pledge to create jobs and lure investment to the economically stricken nation.
“STRONG MANDATE FOR BIG CHANGES”
“Today we get started on the hard work. I have absolute confidence in our abilities to rise to the occasion,” Mitsotakis said after he was sworn in at a ceremony officiated by Greek Orthodox clergy at the presidential palace in Athens.
He was later welcomed by outgoing premier Alexis Tsipras, a leftist who steered Greece out of bailouts, but was blamed for botching negotiations with international lenders and saddling the nation with more debt after he took over in 2015. “Strong mandate for big changes,” conservative Kathimerini newspaper said on its front page.
Greeks hope the new government can make the economy work better after the country emerged from the close surveillance of its international lenders last year. The economy is now growing at a moderate clip, expanding by 1.3 percent on an annual basis in the first quarter.
