Now that he’s Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy Conservative leader, PASOK Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos has reportedly succeeded in getting one of his own, Christos Papoutsis, to be the country’s representative at the World Bank.
The newspaper Kathimerini reported that Venizelos got the post for Papoutsis, who last year challenged him for the leadership of PASOK as it was falling in popularity and has settled at 5-8 percent in the polls and wouldn’t be in the government if Samaras didn’t need its parliamentary seats to have a majority.
Papoutsis, 60, will take the position on Sept. 15. He is a former Citizen’s Protection and Merchant Marine Minister who studied economics. From 1995-99, Papoutsis was European Commissioner for Energy.
He is aligned with the left wing of the party with which Venizelos did not have good relations. The newspaper said Papoutsis’ appointment was a deal Samaras made with his new ally in which he will name a New Democracy official to a more coveted European Commission job.
“Over the last few months, the government has worked closely with the World Bank in order to improve the investment environment,” a government statement said. Greece is eager to get more foreign investment as its privatization program is falling apart with a lack of interest from prospective bidders.
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