Greek Socialist leader George Papandreou, winner of the country's general election, holds a televised victory address on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009 in Athens. Greek voters angered by repeated scandals and a faltering economy ousted Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in an early election Sunday, returning the Socialists to power after five years of conservative governance, initial results indicated. (AP Photo/ Petros Giannakouris)
By ELENA BECATOROS (AP) – 18 minutes ago
ATHENS, Greece — Greece's Socialist leader George Papandreou was sworn in as prime minister Tuesday, after trouncing the conservatives in a landslide election victory won on promises of reviving the country's faltering economy.
Papandreou, a 57-year-old former foreign minister and scion of one of Greece's top political families, now follows in the footsteps of his father Andreas and grandfather and namesake George, both of whom served several terms as prime ministers.
He was sworn in by Greece's Orthodox Church leader Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens during a brief ceremony at the presidential mansion. He then walked to the neighboring prime ministerial office for the hand-over from outgoing prime minister Costas Karamanlis, who has run the country for the last five years.
Karamanlis, faced with his New Democracy party's worst election defeat ever — 33.48 percent of the vote compared to 43.92 percent for the Socialist PASOK party, resigned as head of the conservatives Sunday night.
A small crowd of onlookers gathered outside the presidential mansion, cheering Papandreou as he walked to his new office, with some well-wishers hugging him or planting a kiss on his cheek.
Papandreou was to announce his ministerial appointments later Tuesday, and was expected to create a much leaner Cabinet than Karamanlis' outgoing one. One of the anticipated changes is likely to be the creation of a separate environmental ministry, addressing an issue that is particularly resonant in a country ravaged by a series of devastating forest fires in recent years.
But arguably the new prime minister's top priority will be reforming the ailing economy, which is expected to contract this year after years of growth.
Ahead of the elections, Papandreou offered a radically different solution from that of Karamanlis to dig Greece out of the crisis. Instead of the conservatives' pledges to cut spending and freeze salaries, pensions and public sector hiring, he proposed a stimulus package of up to euro3 billion, giving public sector workers above-inflation pay raises and boosting infrastructure investment.
"We need to first jump start the economy for a short period, to give us the breathing-space to make the changes and then move on to a different type of economy within the next few years," Papandreou told The Associated Press in an interview a week before Sunday's election.
He advocated "a combination of the immediate measures to help small- and medium-sized companies, to strengthen employment, help the unemployed, to help the poor citizens of our country not fall off the cliff and be marginalized."
Karamanlis had dismissed the Socialists' plans as irresponsible, saying Greece could not afford to spend its way out of the crisis.
Analysts say the different approaches to the economy were instrumental in the election result.
"The (economic plan) that PASOK and George Papandreou presented is one that ... is more optimistic," said political analyst Anthony Livanios. "And the other one that New Democracy presented was more pessimistic. So the one that was more optimistic was the one that made the voters go for PASOK and George Papandreou."
But Papandreou's stimulus package alone cannot put the country's economy back on track.
"There is a symbolism in this package. If only Greece's problems were so simple that with 3 billion euros it could change the course of the economy," said political analyst and publisher of the City Press and Free Sunday newspapers Giorgos Kyrtsos.
Papandreou himself has said that Greece faces difficulties, saying Sunday after being elected that "nothing is going to be easy."
However, with a comfortable majority of 160 seats in the 300-member parliament, he will have a strong government able to push through reforms.
Papandreou, a 57-year-old former foreign minister and scion of one of Greece's top political families, now follows in the footsteps of his father Andreas and grandfather and namesake George, both of whom served several terms as prime ministers.
He was sworn in by Greece's Orthodox Church leader Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens during a brief ceremony at the presidential mansion. He then walked to the neighboring prime ministerial office for the hand-over from outgoing prime minister Costas Karamanlis, who has run the country for the last five years.
Karamanlis, faced with his New Democracy party's worst election defeat ever — 33.48 percent of the vote compared to 43.92 percent for the Socialist PASOK party, resigned as head of the conservatives Sunday night.
A small crowd of onlookers gathered outside the presidential mansion, cheering Papandreou as he walked to his new office, with some well-wishers hugging him or planting a kiss on his cheek.
Papandreou was to announce his ministerial appointments later Tuesday, and was expected to create a much leaner Cabinet than Karamanlis' outgoing one. One of the anticipated changes is likely to be the creation of a separate environmental ministry, addressing an issue that is particularly resonant in a country ravaged by a series of devastating forest fires in recent years.
But arguably the new prime minister's top priority will be reforming the ailing economy, which is expected to contract this year after years of growth.
Ahead of the elections, Papandreou offered a radically different solution from that of Karamanlis to dig Greece out of the crisis. Instead of the conservatives' pledges to cut spending and freeze salaries, pensions and public sector hiring, he proposed a stimulus package of up to euro3 billion, giving public sector workers above-inflation pay raises and boosting infrastructure investment.
"We need to first jump start the economy for a short period, to give us the breathing-space to make the changes and then move on to a different type of economy within the next few years," Papandreou told The Associated Press in an interview a week before Sunday's election.
He advocated "a combination of the immediate measures to help small- and medium-sized companies, to strengthen employment, help the unemployed, to help the poor citizens of our country not fall off the cliff and be marginalized."
Karamanlis had dismissed the Socialists' plans as irresponsible, saying Greece could not afford to spend its way out of the crisis.
Analysts say the different approaches to the economy were instrumental in the election result.
"The (economic plan) that PASOK and George Papandreou presented is one that ... is more optimistic," said political analyst Anthony Livanios. "And the other one that New Democracy presented was more pessimistic. So the one that was more optimistic was the one that made the voters go for PASOK and George Papandreou."
But Papandreou's stimulus package alone cannot put the country's economy back on track.
"There is a symbolism in this package. If only Greece's problems were so simple that with 3 billion euros it could change the course of the economy," said political analyst and publisher of the City Press and Free Sunday newspapers Giorgos Kyrtsos.
Papandreou himself has said that Greece faces difficulties, saying Sunday after being elected that "nothing is going to be easy."
However, with a comfortable majority of 160 seats in the 300-member parliament, he will have a strong government able to push through reforms.
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