New Greek finance minister is a change of style, not substance
Euclid Tsakalotos, the mild-tempered professor who was appointed as Greece's new finance minister on July 6, is a clear change in style from his combative predecessor Yanis Varoufakis.
The 55-year-old Tsakalotos studied at prestigious private London school St Paul's and at Oxford University, speaks Greek with a British accent and rarely appears in public, let alone wearing the torso-hugging T-shirts Varoufakis favours.
But if European officials expect Athens' new finance chief, who has already been a key negotiator in drawn-out meetings between the Greek government and creditors, to take a softer approach in the substance of new talks, they can think again.
As the brainchild of Syriza's economic thinking, Tsakalotos is likely to redouble efforts to put one of the most contentious issues in the five months of financial aid negotiations between Greece and its creditors -- debt relief -- back on the table.
In a news conference after being sworn in, Tsakalotos said he was anxious about the task before him. "I cannot hide from you that I am quite nervous. I am not taking on this job at the easiest point in Greek history," he said.
But the minister, who sat beside his predecessor, said he was keen to restart talks with European partners, in order to act on a decision taken by Greeks in a Sunday referendum to reject previous terms offered by creditors in exchange for aid.