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 Tsipras sacked hardline former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis
and two deputy ministers on Friday in a change that marked a split
with the main leftist faction in the ruling Syriza party following a
rebellion over the bailout terms.
Panos Skourletis, a close Tsipras ally who left the labor ministry
to take over the vital energy portfolio, said the reshuffle marked
"an adjustment by the government to a new reality".
The deal, approved with the support of opposition parties on
Thursday after 39 Syriza rebels withheld their backing, agrees a
painful mix of tax hikes, spending curbs and pension cuts as well as
a rollback of collective bargaining agreements.
In addition, 50 billion euros ($54.14 billion) in public assets are
to be placed in a special privatization fund to act as collateral
for loans of up to 86 billion euros that must now be agreed with
European partners.
In place of the rebels, Tsipras named allies of his own or his
junior coalition partners, the right-wing Independent Greeks party,
aiming to seal the bailout accord with European partners over the
next few weeks before likely new elections.
"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," said newly-appointed Labor Minister George
Katrougalos.
He said the government, elected in January on an anti-austerity
platform, would fight for an agreement that was "socially just" and
dismissed suggestions that it would have to take on the powerful
labor unions and risk street protests.
"The Left is with demonstrations. The Left wants the people on the
streets," he said.
Acceptance of the tough bailout terms marked a turnaround for
Tsipras after months of acrimonious talks and a referendum that
resoundingly rejected a less stringent deal proposed by the lenders.
But opinion polls suggest the prime minister's own popularity
remains high.
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A poll published on Saturday in the leftwing Efimerida Ton Syntaknon
newspaper suggested Syriza would get 42.5 percent of the vote if an
election were held now, almost double conservative New Democracy's
21.5 percent.
In addition, 70 percent said they would prefer to accept the bailout
deal if it kept Greece in the euro.
Negotiations on the package are set to begin from next week after
parliaments in Germany and other European countries gave their asset
and European authorities approved emergency funding that should
enable Athens to avoid defaulting on a 3.5 billion euro debt
repayment due on Monday.
The European Central Bank has also agreed to release 900 million
euros in emergency credit next week to the stricken Greek banking
sector. But banks remain closed until at least Sunday and it is
still unclear whether they will be able to reopen immediately.
(Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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