Greek judge appointed caretaker PM ahead of elections

Greece’s top Supreme Court judge was sworn in as caretaker prime minister on Thursday to lead the country to elections next month, ending a week of political deadlock after leftist leader Alexis Tsipras resigned.

Vassiliki Thanou, an opponent of austerity who has argued against wage cuts for judges and court officials, and her new interim government will remain in place at least until parliamentary elections are held, expected to be on Sept. 20.

“I’m especially happy because I’m receiving the first woman prime minister in the history of the Greek democracy, and this is an important step,” Tsipras told Thanou at a handover ceremony at the prime ministerial mansion.

Her appointment ends a week of fruitless negotiations as top opposition party leaders took turns at trying to form a government, exercising a constitutional right that takes effect if a prime minister resigns within a year of being elected.

The process dragged on for a week as the main conservative opposition and then the far-left Popular Unity party both used their allotted three days in full despite having no chance of success, hoping to delay the election.

The conservatives said everything had to be done to avoid a new round of elections that Greece did not need. The country has to implement a new round of austerity measures and reforms agreed with its creditors as part of its 86 billion-euro bailout, and also deal with an unprecedented inflow of migrants.

“The caretaker government’s duties are mainly holding the elections in a fair and smooth fashion. Given the circumstances, however, I believe this government will be called upon to tackle critical issues such as, for example, the immigration issue, and, maybe, some others,” Thanou told Tsipras at the handover ceremony.