Greece's new cabinet was sworn in on Saturday, state radio ERT reported, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ousted several hardline leftists of his SYRIZA party the night before, according to dpa. The reshuffle follows the rebellion on Thursday of 32 SYRIZA lawmakers who voted against the austerity and reform measures, and was aimed at bringing in ministers who can be relied on to implement the tough new conditions required by Athens' creditors. Six additional SYRIZA members abstained from the vote. The move was seen as a blow for Tsipras, who came to power on an anti-austerity ticket in January. The Greek Parliament approved the stringent reforms in a 229-64 vote, marking the first step towards securing the three-year package of up to 86 billion euros (94 billion dollars) to stave off bankruptcy. But the rebellion of former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and former deputy social security minister Dimitris Stratoulis, considered leaders of SYRIZA's left wing, cost them their positions in the administration. Panos Skourletis, Tsipras' close ally and former labour minister, was sworn in as energy minister, replacing Lafazanis in a role that will have him oversee numerous privatizations under new reform measures. Finance Minister Euklid Tsakalotos and Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias remained in their roles. Tsipras has told his staff that he wants to run the country with a minority government based on 123 of the 300 parliamentary seats and expected to be tolerated by the opposition. According to government sources, the new bailout reforms are the first priorities moving forward. When those are finalized, early elections could be held in the autumn.
