Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras will reshuffle his cabinet as early as this week in a bid to wrest back political momentum, and his widely respected finance minister could be among those set to depart, government officials said yesterday.
Mr Samaras, whose conservative party lost the EU election last month to the radical leftist Syriza, is expected to use the reshuffle to show Greeks he has heeded their message at the ballot, which was seen as a test of faith in the government.
All eyes are on whether economist Yannis Stournaras, who has led negotiations with Greece's EU/IMF lenders and is credited with spearheading the country's return to fiscal discipline, will remain as finance minister.
Four government officials said Samaras was discussing whether to keep Stournaras in the job, with one official saying it had been decided that he would leave, though the others cautioned no final decision had been made yet.
Mr Stournaras is eager to leave the finance ministry after the twin successes of returning Athens to the bond market after four years and reporting a primary budget surplus, though he is also considered best placed to lead crucial debt relief talks later this year, two other senior officials said.
“The finance ministry, which is crucial, and ministries handling social policies are expected to be the portfolios most affected,” one of the government sources said.