ANTONIS Samaras’s first week as Greece’s new centre-right prime minister proved unexpectedly medical. First, Mr Samaras was rushed to hospital for surgery to treat a detached retina. Told by doctors to spend a quiet week at home recovering, he is missing his first EU summit.Next, Vassilios Rapanos, the new finance minister, collapsed, complaining of dizziness and nausea. After spending three days in a private clinic for tests, the 64-year-old economist decided his health was too poor for the job. Stressful negotiations are looming with other euro-zone finance ministers and with the troika, the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund officials overseeing Greek reforms to avert a “Grexit” from the single currency.A third blow came from Syriza, the hard-left coalition that ran Mr Samaras’s New Democracy party close in the election. Mr Samaras had to sack George Vernicos, the deputy shipping minister, after Syriza dug out a 2010 law banning government officials and lawmakers from owning shares in companies registered offshore. (The Vernicos family firm is registered in the Marshall Islands.)Despite the rocky start, the three-party coalition government kept calm. Yannis Stournaras, an Oxford-trained economist, was appointed finance minister. A technocrat by inclination, Mr Stournaras was nonetheless considered too political at first for a...
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