Alexis Tsipras was sworn in as the new prime minister of Greece on Monday, after his radical Left-wing movement forged an unwieldy alliance with a far-Right party.
In a low-key ceremony lasting barely 10 minutes, Mr Tsipras promised to protect "the interests of the Greek people" as he signed an official mandate with a Mont Blanc fountain pen.
Well known for his disdain of ties, he arrived wearing an open-necked shirt.
He then went on to the National Resistance Memorial at Kaisariani and laid a wreath to two hundred Greek war dead as his first official act.
In a further break with convention, Mr Tsipras, an atheist, chose not to receive a traditional blessing from the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos II, becoming the first prime minister in the history of the modern Greek state to reject the religious gesture.
Instead of swearing on a Bible, as is customary, he took a non-religious oath. » | Nick Squires, Athens | Monday, January 26, 2015
