9 July 2019

The Guardian: Mitsotakis takes over as Greece's PM with radical change of style

In a changing of the guard that was as subdued as it was swift, Mitsotakis assumed office after he was officially sworn in by the Orthodox Christian country’s spiritual leader, Archbishop Ieronymos. [...]

From the outset, there was no escaping the change in style. In a radical departure from his leftwing predecessor, a self-declared atheist only ever seen in open-neck shirts, Mitsotakis wore a suit and tie as he took the oath on the Bible, watched by his wife and three children. [...]

His pledge to reduce taxes and create jobs in a county still grappling with record unemployment – at 18%, the highest in the EU – particularly appealed to the middle class hit hard by tax rates imposed by the Tsipras government to meet fiscal targets. [...]

The new cabinet will be sworn in on Tuesday. Mitsotakis may have a fiery start: tensions with Turkey have risen dangerously in the eastern Mediterranean over conflicting claims to energy reserves off the island of Cyprus. In a move that has alarmed the EU, Ankara announced that it would be sending a second drilling ship to begin the search for hydrocarbons off the island on Tuesday.

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