Mr. Loucas Papademos is the new Greek Prime Minister

Further to long negotiations among the Greek political leaders with the President of the Republic, Mr. Loucas Papademos has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Greece, around 15:00 today. After his appointment, he made the following statement (podcast in Greek here).

I have accepted the proposal to form a government of national salvation. I am grateful for the confidence. It is a great honour, but the responsibility is even greater. I am not a political person. Greece is on a critical crossroad. The way will not be easy, but the problems will be resolved, provided that we are united and wise. The new government will be a transitional one. Its main task will be implementing the 26 October agreements and the financial policies related to these agreements. We all need to be optimist about the success of our goals. I would like to clarify that no conditions have been set for any political leader.

Mr. Papademos also mentioned that the participation of Greece to the Eurozone is facilitating the adaptation and growth of the economy.

Further to a question by a journalist, related to the timetable for elections, Mr. Papadimos' reply was as follows:

"A precise timetable has not yet been concluded, but our point of reference is the framework, as it was settled on the previous meeting of the political leaders".

The new Government is supported by  PaSoK (Socialist Party), Nea Demokratia (Conservative party) and LaOS (extreme right party). Representatives of the three parties will meet later today, in order to decide about the members of the new Government, which will be appointed on Friday afternoon.