Greece: a few weeks before the first decisions of M Tsipras

Interview. Euronews correspondent in Athens, Stamatis Giannisis, gives his analysis on the new Greek government

- Elena Rizopoulou Euronews: What symbolizes the choice of Alexis Tsipras and that means choosing a personality like Yannis Varoufakis as finance minister?

- Stamatis Giannisis:

Elected SYRIZA and party cadres are the backbone of this government, even if the key portfolio of defense falls to a government partner of M Tsipras, the ultra conservative M Kammenos.

It is obvious that the choice of M Tsipras reflect the message he wants to convey both within Greece and abroad. This message is that Greece has a government totally new and different, and that its agenda is totally different from that of his predecessor M Samaras, a conservative.

Name the Professor Varoufakis as Minister of Finance is a significant choice: it is a recognized economist who has often expressed controversial views on Greek debt. However, Professor Varoufakis is a scientist of international scale and is for M Tsipras, the ideal person to defend SYRIZA's economic program internationally.

- Euronews:

Stamatis, now that the cabinet is formed, what are the first steps and government priorities Alexis Tsipras?

- Stamatis Giannisis:

We'll have to wait a few days before the first elements of government policy initiatives. Above all, the new parliament must elect its President and then, there will be the election of a new President of the Republic. Remember that it is precisely because the previous Assembly had failed to elect the head of state that we had national elections and now a new government. M Tsipras will then submit to Parliament his general policy speech and it is a procedure that involves three days of debate.

One can estimate that it will be mid-February before having a taste of the new Greek government policy.

JavaScript is required to watch this video