(Athens) – Greece named a new cabinet to end two months of political deadlock and said it would aim to revise the terms of an unpopular EU-IMF bailout deal but without risking its eurozone membership. The announcement came a day after Antonis Samaras was sworn in as prime minister following a narrow victory over radical leftists who still won a quarter of the vote with their call to tear up the bailout deal.
A joint statement by the conservative, socialist and moderate leftist parties in the coalition said the aim was “to revise terms of the loan agreement without endangering the country’s European course and its place in the euro.” The new team also pledged to honour Greece’s targets on deficit reduction, debt control and structural reforms following landmark elections. “The goal is to create the conditions to take the country out of the crisis for good and out of dependence on loan agreements in the future,” it said.