PhotoATHENS — Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece shuffled his cabinet on Friday, dismissing ministers who have objected to economic changes and austerity measures demanded by the country’s creditors. Eager to push through bailout measures so his negotiators can begin talks with their European counterparts on relief for Greece’s huge debt, Mr. Tsipras retained his core economic team. But in what appeared to be an effort to please Greece’s creditors, Mr. Tsipras replaced Energy Minister Panos Skourletis, who has opposed the full privatization of Greece’s electric power system, with the more moderate economy minister, Giorgos Stathakis. One of Mr. Tsipras’s key aides, Dimitris Liakos, was moved from his job running the prime minister’s economic office to oversee the enforcement of Greece’s bailout program. The prime minister’s coalition is trailing the political opposition in opinion polls, and the cabinet shuffle was also a step toward addressing Mr. Tsipras’s declining approval ratings.

Source: New York Times November 05, 2016 02:19 UTC