From Anthee Carassava
ATHENS, Greece (CNN) — Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis carried out a sweeping reshuffle of his Cabinet Wednesday as his party struggles to retain its razor-thin control of parliament amid a string of scandals and the worst civil unrest the country has seen in decades.
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has replaced nine of his 16 ministers.
The shakeup, which comes barely a year after the prime minister's re-election in 2007, was not a surprise. But the extent of the reshuffle was.
Karamanlis replaced nine of 16 ministers, including Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis.
Alogoskoufis is credited with maintaining Greece's growth in a slumping global economy. But his prescription for unpopular economic reforms swelled public discontent against the center-right government in recent months.
The prime minister, however, kept in place the Interior Minister, despite criticism of the ministry's handling of the police during a month of riots in Greece.
The country erupted in riots and demonstrations December 6 when a police bullet killed 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos, and protests have continued almost daily since then.
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Students have led demonstrations against what they call police brutality, while labor unions have joined in to protest wage freezes, the rising cost of living, pension cuts and the fear of mass layoffs.
Hundreds have been arrested and shops and banks in Athens have been damaged.
Karamanlis has also come under scathing criticism for his government's controversial land deals in which prime plots of state-owned real estate were swapped for lower-value tracts of land owned by a monastery in northern Greece.
The government was forced to revoke the deals, but the public and political outcry that followed has affected its credibility and soured the prime minister's political fortunes.
A flurry of opinion polls released in recent months show conservatives trailing behind rival socialists for the first time since rising to power in March 2004.
Karamanlis' party controls 151 seats in the 300-seat Greek parliament — a majority of one.
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Greek PM reshuffles Cabinet to maintain control CNN International – 13 hours ago ATHENS, Greece (CNN) — Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis carried out a sweeping reshuffle of his Cabinet Wednesday as his party struggles to retain … |
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Greek PM Reshuffles Cabinet, New Fin Min Named EasyBourse.com, France – 12 hours ago ATHENS -(Dow Jones)- Embattled Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced Wednesday a broad cabinet reshuffle, including a new finance minister, … |
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FACTBOX-Five facts about Greece's new finance minister Reuters – 15 hours ago Jan 7 (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis picked Yannis Papathanassiou as the country's new finance minister, replacing George Alogoskoufis … |
Greek PM reshuffles cabinet Radio Netherlands, Netherlands – 13 hours ago Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has reshuffled his cabinet. Nine ministries are to change hands. One of the ministers to leave the cabinet is the … |
Greek PM announces cabinet reshuffle Deutsche Welle, Germany – 13 hours ago Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has announced a sweeping cabinet reshuffle. In all, nine ministries changed hands. While the finance minister was … |
New Greek cabinet to be sworn in Thursday Xinhua, China – 11 hours ago ATHENS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Greece's new Cabinet members are to be sworn in Thursday following Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' expected government … |
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Hürriyet, Turkey – 3 hours ago
ATHENS – Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis yesterday carried out a sweeping cabinet reshuffle to shore up a government shaken by scandals, …
Greek leader reforms cabinet International Herald Tribune, France – 8 hours ago By Anthee Carassava ATHENS: Shaken by scandals, public protests and a surge in extremism, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis of Greece replaced his finance … |
FACTBOX-Comments on Greek cabinet reshuffle, new finmin Reuters – 11 hours ago Jan 7 (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis sacked his finance minister on Wednesday in a cabinet reshuffle to try to shore up his government's … |
Greek PM sacks nine ministers in response to worst riots in decades Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom – 11 hours ago Greece's embattled prime minister has bowed to weeks of pressure and announced a sweeping cabinet reshuffle as he struggles to deal with the fallout from … |
New Greek cabinet to be sworn in Thursday Xinhua, China – 11 hours ago ATHENS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Greece's new Cabinet members are to be sworn in Thursday following Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' expected government … |
Finance minister fired as Greek PM conducts cabinet reshuffle Xinhua, China – 12 hours ago ATHENS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis proceeded with an expected government reshuffle Wednesday, announcing a change in the … |
Greek PM reshuffles Cabinet to maintain control CNN International – 13 hours ago ATHENS, Greece (CNN) — Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis carried out a sweeping reshuffle of his Cabinet Wednesday as his party struggles to retain … |
Greek PM reshuffles cabinet Radio Netherlands, Netherlands – 13 hours ago Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has reshuffled his cabinet. Nine ministries are to change hands. One of the ministers to leave the cabinet is the … |
Greek PM announces cabinet reshuffle Deutsche Welle, Germany – 13 hours ago Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has announced a sweeping cabinet reshuffle. In all, nine ministries changed hands. While the finance minister was … |
Greece Announces Cabinet Reshuffle Wall Street Journal – 13 hours ago By ALKMAN GRANITSAS ATHENS — Embattled Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced a broad cabinet reshuffle Wednesday in a bid to boost his … |
Greek interior minister survives Cabinet reshuffle The Associated Press – 15 hours ago ATHENS, Greece (AP) – The embattled Greek prime minister reshuffled his Cabinet Wednesday but retained several key posts, including the interior minister … |
FACTBOX-Five facts about Greece's new finance minister Reuters – 15 hours ago Jan 7 (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis picked Yannis Papathanassiou as the country's new finance minister, replacing George Alogoskoufis … |
Greek interior minister survives despite riots International Herald Tribune, France – 16 hours ago AP ATHENS, Greece: Embattled Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has reshuffled his Cabinet, replacing his finance minister but retaining the interior minister … |
Greek PM to reshuffle cabinet TVNZ, New Zealand – 16 hours ago Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will reshuffle his conservative cabinet in an effort to reverse its sliding popularity due to riots and discontent … |
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Greece's new cabinet to be sworn on Thursday Focus News, Bulgaria – 6 hours ago Athens. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis proceeded with a mostly expected government reshuffle on Wednesday just after noon, with a government spokesman … |
Cabinet reshuffle in Greece Radio New Zealand, New Zealand – 8 hours ago Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis sacked his finance minister on Wednesday in a cabinet reshuffle in response to riots, scandals and economic woes. … |
Greek PM Reshuffles Cabinet, New Fin Min Named EasyBourse.com, France – 12 hours ago ATHENS -(Dow Jones)- Embattled Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced Wednesday a broad cabinet reshuffle, including a new finance minister, … |
Greek PM To Announce Cabinet Reshuffle Shortly-TV EasyBourse.com, France – 16 hours ago ATHENS -(Dow Jones)- Embattled Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is expected to announce a reshuffling of his cabinet at 1015 GMT, state-run television … |
Cabinet Reshuffle Expected Εξπρές, Greece – 16 hours ago A cabinet reshuffle could be at the gate. According to information, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is expected to announce the new cabinet in hours to … |
Greek PM to reshuffle cabinet at 1030 GMT FXstreet.com The Foreign Exchange Market, Spain – 16 hours ago ATHENS, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will announce a cabinet reshuffle at 1030 GMT on Wednesday, a statement from the press … |
Greek PM Announces Measures To Boost Tourism Industry Focus on Travel News, Turkey – Jan 6, 2009 Prime Minister of Greece Costas Karamanlis announced a series of measures designed to support Greece's tourism industry, stressing the sector's crucial … |
Greek PM sacks finance minister in reshuffle International Herald Tribune, France – 11 hours ago By Dina Kyriakidou and George Georgiopoulos Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis sacked his finance minister on Wednesday in a cabinet reshuffle to try to … |
Greek interior minister survives Cabinet reshuffle The Associated Press – 13 hours ago ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greek's embattled leader reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesday but retained his interior minister, who has been sharply criticized for … |
Greek prime minister reshuffles Cabinet United Press International – 7 hours ago ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 7 (UPI) — Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis staged a major reshuffling of his Cabinet Wednesday in the wake of continuing youth … |