Greek banks to reopen as revamped cabinet gets to work

Greece said Saturday its banks will reopen after a three-week shutdown, as a revamped government took up the task of enacting unpopular fiscal reforms amid doubts over the viability of the country’s planned bailout. Scenes of desperate Greeks queueing for hours at ATMs in the sweltering heat looked set to end on Monday when the banks will again open their doors, the government announced after receiving a crucial short-term loan from the EU. But capital controls remain in place, including a block on capital transfers abroad which has hit businesses hard. Fresh-faced cabinet members were sworn in Saturday, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reshuffled to fill the vacancies left by rebellious ministers who were axed for voting against the reforms demanded by international creditors.

Our aim is to negotiate hard for the terms of the agreement, not just to seal it, but on how it will be implemented. There are many vague terms in the text.

newly-appointed Labour Minister George Katrougalos

Tsipras faced down a mutiny from his party in parliament last week, with over 30 of his 149 Syriza lawmakers refusing to approve the package of tax hikes, pension reform and privatisations demanded by lenders. The leftist premier had to move fast to get his house in order. Greece must approve a second batch of banking and justice-related reforms on Wednesday to qualify for the three-year bailout of up to 86 billion euros ($94 billion). The 40-year-old decided not to replace the cabinet rebels with technocrats, sticking instead with members of his own coalition, including a TV soap opera comedian as junior labour minister – a decision which raised some eyebrows.

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