Greece’s new Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in in the presence of the country’s high-ranking clergy and took his oath of office from the Archbishop of Athens. He then proceeded to Prime Minister’s office for the handover by Alexis Tsipras.
“The Greek people have given us a strong mandate to change Greece. We will fully respect it,” Mitsotakis said on Monday after the sworn in ceremony.
“The hard work starts today. I have complete confidence in our ability to rise to the challenge,” the prime minister added.
Could the liberal Mitsotakis avoid the religious oathand be sworn in in the name of the Constitution? He could. But then hundreds of thousands of his conservative voters would be shocked. Not to mention, that the Greek orthodox Church has been always supportive of the right-wing.
Mitsotakis then headed to the Maximos Mansion for the handover ceremony.
Outgoing premier Alexis Tsipras was waiting for him at the top of the stairs at the entrance. Mitsotakis climbed them quickly, exchanged a brief handshake with Alexis Tsipras, and then Tsipras accompanied him inside the Maximos Mansion.
Tsipras noted that this handover process was not observed when he became prime minister in 2015, when his predecessor was not there to welcome him.
End January 2015, Tsipras’ predecessor Antonis Samaras (ND) had just left the key under the doormat.
Samaras, who is perhaps the most vulgar PM in Greece's recent history, not only refused to do the handover: he actually had his staff remove stationery and soaps. An absolute clown. https://t.co/78spPZOwrt
— ʏɪᴀɴɴɪs ʙᴀʙᴏᴜʟɪᴀs (@YiannisBab) July 8, 2019
