Greek opposition leaders made zero progress as they pressed on with trying to form a coalition yesterday, despite appeals from home and abroad for a rapid move to elections so the country can deal with its economic and humanitarian crises.

A new, smaller Greek Cabinet will be sworn in today, giving conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis a streamlined governing team for his party’s second term.

Fresh off its re-election in the smouldering aftermath of deadly forest fires, Greece’s conservative prime minister Costas Karamanlis unveiled a streamlined cabinet peppered with a few new faces.