Greece Elections: New prime minister promises change after landslide win

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Greece's newly sworn-in prime minister has chosen his cabinet. The leader of the New Democracy party pledged to turn around a country reeling from an economic crisis. CGTN's Filio Kontrafouri reports from Athens.

It was a handover that signaled a return to mainstream politics. The new Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis - with the country's bailout years behind - it pledged to bring the change that Greeks want.

KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS GREEK PRIME MINISTER "The Greek people gave us a strong mandate to change Greece. We will honor this mandate to the full. From today, hard work begins. I have complete trust in our capabilities and to rise to the occasion."

The election result gave New Democracy an outright majority. With 158 seats in the 300-member parliament, the new government will have the freedom to push through reforms it wants. Greece is still struggling to emerge from an economic crisis that five years ago led to a record-high 28 percent unemployment, while the economy shrank by more than a quarter.

FILIO KONTRAFOURI ATHENS "Kyriakos Mitsotakis campaigned on the promise of better days for Greeks. His focus has been on fewer taxes, attracting investment, more and better jobs and more growth."

Greeks punished leftist Alexis Tsipras for failing to keep his promise to end austerity. Yet, the return to the party that has been part of Greece's political establishment for decades brings mixed emotions among voters.

"I am more optimistic with this new government, they will do a better job. They are more credible. And more correct."

"There will be a change for who? For us, the poor? Of course not. The change will be for the others, the rich. Us, he will step on us, like he did in the past."

While Greece has successfully exited from its bailout programs, it remains under strict supervision by international lenders. One of the biggest challenges for the new government will be to stick to those agreements still meet voter expectations for greater prosperity.

PANOS POLYZOIDIS POLITICAL ANALYST "It's relatively easy to say lower taxes, more growth. The question is how can one achieve lowering those taxes without disrupting the fiscal balance that cost so much to the Greek people to achieve."

Some analysts say that while the economy has stabilized, the damage done in Greece is so great that the road towards any robust economic growth will be long and bumpy, no matter who governs.

PANOS POLYZOIDIS POLITICAL ANALYST "You need to see something better ahead. And we have to work with what's ahead. And now New Democracy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis are the people of the moment. Mitsotakis is the man of the moment. So, it's natural that many people invest even exaggerated hopes in him. So, one of his main jobs is not to stifle those hopes but to moderate them."

Mitsotakis is a conservative liberal aiming to boost growth through private investment and privatizations. He believes in a smaller state policies that many Greeks have rejected before. Mitsotakis says voters have given him 'strong mandate'. As many analysts say that doesn't mean governing will be easy.