Sachinidis is the new minister of Finance

By decision of PM Lucas Papademos, the new minister of Finance in the place of Venizelos is Philippos Sachinidis, who until now has been the deputy finance minister.

This development follows the scenario that had Tassos Giannitsis being transferred from the ministry of Interior to the ministry of Finance, which did not pan out. That's because, according to reliable information, ND’s proposal to assign (in Giannitsis' place) Secretary of the Interior George Kalamidas, former chairman of the Supreme Court, was rejected.

But the question is if Sachinidis has the special political weight required to assume the post of Finance minister at such a difficult time.

And it is still unclear whether the international representation of Greece in the Eurogroup and other forums will be undertaken by Sachinidis or Papademos, who was rumored to undertake some of the responsibilities of the minister of Finance.

In the matter of the person who succeeds Venizelos as minister of Finance, the issue is not Sahinidis, despite the fact that he participated in Papandreou’s economic staff and has a share of the responsibility for the failure of economic policy.

It has to do with the seriousness of the circumstances. And it is more than clear that at the present time the country needs a Finance minister with special political weight and prestige. We should not forget that at the crucial meeting of the Eurogroup on February 20, Greece was represented both by Venizelos and Papademos.

It seems that as concerns the selection of the new Finance minister the scene is dominated by petty political calculations, the attempt to maintain the balance between the parties and remarkable negligence by the main "players".