Greece anti-bailout leader Tsipras made prime minister

Athens, 26 January 2015 (MIA) - The head of Greece's far-left Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras, has been sworn in as prime minister and is set to lead an anti-austerity coalition government, the BBC reports.

Turning up for the ceremony without a tie, the leftist took the oath less than 24 hours after winning the general election on an anti-austerity platform.

Earlier, he formed a coalition with the centre-right Independent Greeks.

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has reminded him of the need to "ensure fiscal responsibility".

Congratulating Tsipras on his election win, Juncker said in a tweet: "The European Commission stands ready to continue assisting Greece in achieving these goals." He also referred to "promoting sustainable jobs and growth".

The Syriza leader has vowed to renegotiate the bailouts, which are worth €240bn ($268bn).

Eurozone finance ministers are meeting in Brussels to consider how to deal with the new government in Greece, which replaces the conservative-led coalition headed by Antonis Samaras.

The euro recovered from an 11-year low against the US dollar as investors digested what Syriza's victory meant for the eurozone's future. Europe's main share markets also rose - after initial falls - on hopes that a compromise over Greece's bailout terms might be found.

With all of the votes counted in Sunday's poll, Syriza has 149 seats, just two short of an absolute majority. The Greek Independents have 13 seats in the 300-seat parliament.

Breaking with tradition at his swearing-in, Tsipras also refused the customary blessing from Orthodox priests.

In his first act as prime minister, he laid flowers at a memorial to Greek Resistance fighters killed by Nazi Germany during World War 2.

It is expected that a new cabinet will be formed on Tuesday.

The man tipped to become the new Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, told the BBC the austerity regime had been "fiscal waterboarding policies that have turned Greece into a debt colony".

The economy has shrunk drastically since the 2008 global financial crisis, and increasing unemployment has thrown many Greeks into poverty.

On Sunday, Tsipras told jubilant supporters he wanted to write off half of Greece's debt, but was ready to negotiate "a viable solution" and wanted the country to stay in the eurozone.



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