Greece Appoints a Veteran Politician to Unite Party
By ALKMAN GRANITSAS And COSTAS PARIS
ATHENS—The appointment of veteran Socialist politician Evangelos Venizelos as Greece's new finance minister brings a heavyweight political operator to the country's talks with its European partners over a second aid package and promised economic reforms.
But the selection of mr. Venizelos, a 54-year-old university law professor by training who now heads the defense ministry, also signals an attempt by embattled Prime Minister George Papandreou to quell an internal party revolt—and rising popular anger—against those reforms.
"Venizelos carries a lot of political weight, both inside the Socialist party and in the wider public," said Anthony Livanios, an independent political analyst. "His appointment as finance minister means that Papandreou is trying to check the social upheaval we have seen in the past few days."
Earlier Friday, Greece's government announced a sweeping cabinet reshuffle following two days of dramatic developments that included mass protests on the streets of Athens and several high-profile defections from the ruling party.
Those come as the government tries to push through a tough, five-year, €28 billion ($39.79 billion) austerity program and an ambitious privatization plan that are seen as preconditions for a second aid package Greece is seeking as its current €110 billion loan runs out.
In one of his first duties as finance minister, Mr. Venizelos will meet with fellow euro-zone finance ministers in Luxembourg Sunday and Monday to debate the new deal.
Known for his razor-sharp intellect and abrasive manner, Mr. Venizelos is an old party hand who was hand-picked by mr. Papandreou's father to serve in the Socialist central committee in 1990 at the age of 33, when Andreas Papandreou led the party.
Originally from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, Mr. Venizelos has served as a Socialist parliamentarian since 1993, holding various portfolios including justice minister and government spokesman.
In 2007, following the Socialists' crushing defeat in national polls, Mr. Venizelos unsuccessfully challenged to the younger Mr. Papandreou for control of the party.
Although less well-known outside Greece, analysts say Mr. Venizelos brings some international experience to the table, most recently as Greece's representative in meetings of North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense ministers. He speaks both English and French.
Deemed as the second choice for finance minister after former European Central Bank vice president Lucas Papademos turned the job down, Mr. Venizelos could use the ostensibly thankless post to prepare himself for a fresh run at the party leadership, analysts said.
"
By accepting the job, Venizelos has clearly positioned himself as a possible successor in the Socialist party once Papandreou moves on," said David Lea, an analyst at Control Risks, an independent risk consultancy.
Mr. Venizelos replaces Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou, a technocrat who spent many years as an economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but who became increasingly unpopular for tough austerity measures he helped design.
By contrast, Mr. Venizelos has very little economic experience. But analysts say he brings to the job his deep legal knowledge which could, among other things, help kick-start Greece's long-delayed privatization plan.
Under the plan, Greece aims to raise €50 billion over the next five years from the sale of state companies and also the exploitation of the government's vast land holdings. But that program has stalled, in part because of legal issues surrounding those property holdings.
"
The reason there has been such a delay in the privatization program is because the legal framework for those privatizations has been lagging behind," said Mr. Livanios. "The prime minister wants to push ahead with those privatizations and he has appointed a lawyer, Venizelos, to get things moving."
(The Wall Street Journal)
Reuters - 17/06/2011 14:01:22
