Greece keeps Euclid Tsakalotos as finance minister after election win

Greece’s newly re-elected leftwing government has retained Euclid Tsakalotos as finance minister to continue tough negotiations with other eurozone countries on the terms of a large new bailout deal.

The new cabinet of the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, that was announced late on Tuesday included few changes to key ministry posts.

Tsakalotos, 55, led the final stages of talks between the Tsipras government and bailout lenders for the €86bn ($96bn) bailout after Athens abandoned a more combative stance toward creditors and agreed to implement new austerity measures.

Despite Tsipras’ policy U-turn, he was re-elected by a wide margin in last weekend’s general election and again formed a coalition government with a small rightwing party, the Independent Greeks.

Panos Kammenos, the junior coalition party leader, returned as minister of defence.

Although Greece has already implemented another round of tax rises to secure the new bailout deal, the government has pledged big changes aimed at long-term spending cuts, including an overhaul of the pension system, labor market rules and public administration.

Greece has survived on international rescue loans since 2010 and is hoping to improve repayment terms for its staggering national debt that is worth roughly 175% of the country’s annual output.

The mild-mannered Tsakalotos, an Oxford-trained former economics lecturer, is credited with rescuing the summer bailout talks as Greece faced the renewed danger of an exit from the euro currency.

Leftwing party rebels who opposed their government’s compromise helped trigger the early election and formed a breakaway party that failed to gain any seats in parliament.

The new Tsipras government abandons attempts to streamline government with fewer ministerial positions, reintroducing senior posts for culture, merchant marine and several other portfolios.

Ioannis Mouzalas, a doctor and former aid group coordinator who was appointed migration minister under a four-week caretaker government, was kept on to help Greece deal with a refugee crisis that has rattled the EU.

The newcabinet will be sworn in on Wednesday.